The #1 New York Times bestselling follow-up to Eat Pray Love—an intimate and erudite celebration of love from the author of Big Magic and City of Girls. At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal … when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous bad divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which-after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing-gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert’s trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to “turn on all the lights” when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert’s memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.more
Loved it. Another insightful book from the wonderfully talented @elizabethgilbert 🙂
Some great facts on the institution of marriage.
There are writers in which I take a particular delight; as soon as I read their written words, it’s like coming home from a long hard, day at the office. And when I’m done with their books, I’m sad. It’s like Monday morning all over again. Elizabeth Gilbert is one of those authors for me.
On the first day of the 2011, I finished Committed, Ms. Gilbert’s follow-up piece to the wildly successful memoir Eat, Pray, Love. (Love that one too.) This book had the same voice of the writer, but a much different feel. It’s a compelling, smart sequel for a someone whose world was sadly falling apart a few years back. Now her dilemma (even though very personal –she must marry Felipe, if she wants to stay with him) seems to identify at a much more universal level.
Anyway, the read is very anecdotal (adding to the warmth – she is lovingly self-deprecating), and it’s interestingly academic at times. Truly, Committed is engaging (no pun intended) for anyone who wants to talk about love and marriage. And who doesn’t want to talk about that? Really! Even most guys, deep down, like to talk about it. Even MY husband.
Mostly, I love the way Gilbert writes. She has a vast lexicon. (I slightly regret not purchasing the tome (:)) on the Kindle. Her vocabulary is a bit more extensive than mine….had to get my arse off the couch to find the actual dictionary a few times. Good for me though.) And for the aspiring writer in me, I so admire how she effortlessly pieces together a story or an argument, not forgetting to weave in her cunning wit. I find myself giggling and uttering, “good point” in the same breath.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Committed is a strong follow-up memoir to her brilliant predecessor Eat, Pray, Love. Again opening up with candor and humility about the most intimate details of her life, Gilbert picks up in Committed with the cliff-hanging question that ends Eat, Pray, Love: what happens to her relationship with Felipe? Fate and circumstances once again fuel the driving force for Gilbert’s compulsion to delve deeply into the subject of one of life’s most cherished traditions: that of marriage.
She and Felipe had sworn eternal devotion as a couple without the necessity of legal matrimony, but they find their decision compromised by an unexpected dilemma. When Felipe’s frequent visits to America to be with Elizabeth raise eyebrows with U.S. immigration, the couple must face their options: either dealing with Felipe’s permanent non-entry to the states or choosing to legally wed, which will enable Felipe the opportunity, under the protection of Elizabeth’s citizenship, to join her in America and become a citizen.
Gilbert confronts this strange crossroads as more than a momentous personal decision. She uses the circumstances as a springboard to begin her own personal quest to investigate marriage and how its conventions may impact her relationship with Felipe. She essentially searches for answers of what makes two people compatible, and what does the institution of marriage allow them in terms of their ability to grow as lifelong partners and ultimately succeed at loving each other for the same reasons they vowed to commit forever in the first place? Gilbert covers issues of marriage in a thought-provoking manner. She explores the historical context of marriage in various cultures. She also looks at marriage’s time-honored traditions and the challenges marriage faces in the modern world, which is constantly changing, especially in regard to the legal debate over gay and same-sex marriage.
Some have dismissed this book as lackluster and pretentious. I see it in the exact opposite light. Gilbert again shares her most personal secrets, which many of us can relate to, learn from, and use to make our own relationships with loved ones better and more everlasting. Gilbert is a brave and sensitive writer, full of empathy and compassion. Committed is a perfect complement to Eat, Pray, Love. I have tremendous regard for Gilbert’s work. Her ideas are invigorated with hope and the courage to seek the truth to life’s most sacred questions. What makes both Eat, Pray, Love and Committed beautiful and heartfelt is Gilbert’s open-mindedness and wit to explore the depths of her own soul and to discover who she is.
Interesting because I had the same experience. Well written
Great book for anyone who has questioned the purpose of marriage. She shows the flexibility of marriage across cultures and time. Very interesting.
Great book. I bought copies for my married daughters.
Once again Elizabeth Gilbert created a wonderful book! Insightful and enjoyable!
A very well-written, well-researched, emotionally personal look at what marriage means for women in the US in this day and age, from the author of “Eat, Pray, Love.”
There’s no one like Gilbert for intelligent, quietly riveting information on so many world views.