Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Liz’s quest for self-development in Eat Pray Love begins after a deep personal crisis. Analyze the contents of one sobbing event on the bathroom floor. What is Liz looking for as she leaves for Italy? What has she found as she returns from Bali?

Liz seems prone to unhealthy relationships. Based on her self-revelations, what aspects of her character or personality bring her into these relationships?

Gilbert uses fables, extended metaphors, to illustrate her arguments. Analyze the effectiveness of either the story about the lottery ticket or the cat tied for meditation.

Liz alters her attitude toward Swamiji during her months at the ashram. Discuss the “turning points” and their relationship to her devotional practice.

Eat Pray Love is a memoir about self-discovery. But Liz also seems capable of self-deception, even at the end of her journey. What are examples of self-deception in the book?

What role does Richard from Texas play in Liz’s experience at the ashram? Why is his name the only one Gilbert didn’t change for the book?

In the section on “Italy,” it is important for the reader to share Liz’s pleasure in food. How effective is her writing in generating this pleasure? How do you interpret Gilbert as a “food journalist”?

Ketut’s memory seems selective. How is this important for the unfolding of the story? Do you interpret it as a sign of age or rather as a strategy? A strategy to achieve what?