Eat, Pray and Love is an account of Elizabeth Gilbert's journey of self-discovery as she travels to Italy, India and Indonesia following a harrowing divorce experience. After being married for eight years, the author realizes one fine night that she is not cut out to lead a conventional life of being married to someone (that she doesn't love anymore), and bearing a child. That very night she discovers her inner voice, which goes dormant for a while but in the months to come will be her guardian angel. Getting separated from her husband turned out to be a lot harder than she had imagined, by the end of which she is physically, emotionally and financially drained. It's then that she decides to take a year off to travel to Italy, India and Indonesia to experience the different facets of life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first section of the book, which covers the author's stay in Italy. Here, she gets fluent in Italian, gains more than thirty pounds and understands the true meaning of pleasure . Her description of Rome and the laid back attitude of the Italians made me want to experience a bit of that country. She struck a chord with me, when she described how difficult it was for her initially to experience the pleasure of doing nothing. Being used to a very happening and eventful life, it takes a while for the author to give herself permission to do nothing and to be just in the moment. As much as I complain about lack of time, I know for a fact that I would get fidgety if I had all the time in the world but no clearly defined things to do.

The second section of the book, in which she narrates about her stay in India, is closer to my heart. In India, she hones her meditation skills, communicates with God and practices the art of letting go. In some ways, this section reminded me of the Home Improvement show, except that this is more spiritual than the psychological bent in Home Improvement . Richard from Texas, with whom the author shares a special friendship and who keeps throwing nuggets of wisdom every now and then, reminded me of the character Wilson in Home Improvement episodes. However, even for someone who was born and brought up with the same religious background that the author sought, I zoned out when she described Kundalini and her spiritual rendezvous with her ex-husband at the top of a temple.

The third and the final section of the book, which describes her stay in Indonesia was a big let down for me. In Indonesia, she experiences bliss, falls in love and learns to strike a balance between pleasure and devotion. To me, this section had all the ingredients of a soap opera – love, friendships, deceit, and a fairy tale ending. The author could have done a better job of hand holding the readers to help us understand how she was able to put her learnings in Italy and India to practice in Indonesia and thereby strike a balance between pleasure and spirituality. A little insight into how her own attitude and life changed as a result of her travels would have given a closure to the readers.

The likability of this book is proportional to the extent to which you can personally relate to the author's experiences. It's a well written memoir and a light read. I rate this book as somewhere between average and above average.