At the age of thirty one Gilbert moved with her husband to the suburbs of New York and began trying to get pregnant only to realize that she wanted neither a child nor a husband Three years later after a protracted divorce she embarked on a yearlong trip of recovery with three main stops Rome for pleasure mostly gustatory with a special emphasis on gelato an ashram outside of Mumbai for spiritual searching and Bali for balancing These destinations are all on the beaten track but Gilbert s exuberance and her self-deprecating humor enliven the proceedings recalling the first time she attempted to speak directly to God she says It was all I could do to stop myself from saying Ive always been a Gilbert s prose is fueled by a mix of intelligence wit and colloquial exuberance that is close to irresistible The New York Times Book Review A meditation on love in its many forms ove of food language humanity God.
