Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern, educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want, but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled she was consumed with panic, grief, and confusion.

Then Gilbert took a radical step. She got rid of her belongings, quit her job, left her loved ones behind, and undertook a year-long journey around the world, all alone. In Italy, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, where, with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise Texan, she embarked on four months of austere spiritual exploration. Finally, in Indonesia, she sought her ultimate goal: balance.

A memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment. It is also about the adventures that can transpire when a woman stops trying to live in imitation of society's ideals.