Eat, Pray, Love, Commit

I just finished reading “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Yes, that Elizabeth Gilbert, scribe of “Eat, Pray, Love”. If you are a fan of her now famous book, or if you’re a fan of the movie (which I haven’t seen yet), or even if you’ve never heard of her, you should read this book. If you haven’t heard of Ms. Gilbert or “Eat, Pray, Love” I will assume you’ve been living under a rock and the rest of this post may interest you not at all.



SPOILER ALERT!!!


Okay, now that we got that out of the way, I will tell you that “Committed” takes up a couple of years after “Eat, Pray, Love” ends. Liz has been dating the fantastic Felipe and is super happy but the United States Department of Homeland Security doesn’t give a crap. They kick Felipe out of the U.S. and he and Liz learn that the only way they will be able to stay together in the U.S. is if they get married. To them this is a nightmare. As anyone who has gone through a divorce will know getting into another marriage can be way scary. As Liz and Felipe jump through the hoops of what the government requires for them to legally marry, Liz jumps through the hoops of what marriage itself requires. “What is marriage?” she asks. Good question. Ironically I myself am engaged to be married, so this book and all it entailed really piqued my interest.

The first few pages in and I text a friend:

"OMGyouhavetoreadthisbookitssogoodeveryoneshouldreadit!"

I do still think that though I give you a word of caution: the middle section will make you doubt any desire you have ever had to want to bind yourself to another hopelessly imperfect human being. Grateful I was though that Ms. Gilbert did not leave me in that place of doubt. With her usual frankness, warmth, and good humor, she takes the subject of marriage by the lapels and gives it a good shake. Every little nook and cranny of what it means to be married is looked at. Up, down, and all around Ms. Gilbert looks and asks great questions about this ancient ritual of pledging yourself to another. She finds some equally great explanations. You will say “hmmm” a lot, and “Yeah! That’s just how I feel!” In the end I’m glad to say I was wholly satisfied. I agree with Ms. Gilbert in how she chose to view the institution of marriage and I even find it a more exciting prospect now than I did before.

Married people are rebels! That’s right, you heard me.