Book Review: 'Eat Pray Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert

✰✰✰✰ When divorce throws Elizabeth Gilbert into chaos and depression, she seeks an alternate route to finding her confidence. Instead of pills, she turns to travel and takes a year off from her regular life to explore. As she travels through Italy, India, and Indonesia she discovers that she’s okay with being alone for the first time in her adult life. The pursuit of pleasure, devotion, and a balance between the two, leads Gilbert on unexpected adventures. You’ll laugh and cry along with her as she seeks to improve herself and be at peace with her choices.

The Bottom Line: There’s something appealing about travel memoirs. Maybe it’s the setting or the descriptions of exotic places and cultures that suck people in. In the case of this bestseller, the author visited three very different countries and had three very different experiences, each benefitting her in its own way. Along the way she met several engaging characters and fell in love. Gilbert’s memoir will appeal to others going through and healing from a difficult divorce. And even though the book seems geared towards women, men will appreciate Gilbert’s observations as well. 

Book Club Notes: On a scale of 1 - 5, with 5 being the highest, our group gave the book an average of 4.25 stars. On the other hand, the movie paled in comparison to the book, garnering just 3.5 stars. 

The movie is rated PG-13 with an all-star lineup of celebrities featuring Julia Roberts, James Franco, & Javier Bardem. It is approximately 140 - 146” long depending on which version you watch. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and locations of the film. However, much of the author’s deep personal thoughts were lost in the movie. The movie simplified the events; plus, conflict was added into the movie to create interest and tension.

Meanwhile, the book was more philosophical and diary-like. Generally, we enjoyed the details and learned a lot from this book. Unfortunately, several in our group got bogged down in the India section as there was just a wee bit too much about the challenges of meditation.

Overall, this was a fun discussion. Recommended for groups that enjoy different settings, thoughtful writing, and a little bit of lighthearted romance.

Check out these resources for discussion questions: 

LitLovers & Travel Books and Movies.

On a side note, this was our first HYBRID discussion event (via Zoom & in-person). Although it’s not ideal, this challenging set-up is doable. Anyone attempting to host a hybrid book discussion will need additional support in the way of tech help both before and during the meeting. Challenges included everyone being able to hear each other and struggling with an echo through the sound system. It’s a work in progress.

Details: Eat Pray Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. 10th-Anniversary Edition published by Riverhead Books in 2016. 64th printing. 352 P. ISBN: 978-0-14-303841-2

Book Review: 'Papa Goose' by Michael Quetting

✰✰✰½ As a researcher for the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany, author Michael Quetting had the opportunity to be involved in an amazing experiment. His mission: to raise geese from hatchlings, teach them to fly, and gather flight data. For eleven months, Quetting took his charges for daily swims and made sure they were well taken care of. Along the way, he learned that each had its own personality from feisty to cuddly. Just like raising human children, the author discovered there were ups and downs to parenting seven little ones. Check out this book and join the adventure of a lifetime. 

The Bottom Line: The dedication the author had to see this experiment through was amazing. Filled with humor and packed with information, this is a very quick read that will interest nature lovers and students of biology.

Details: Papa Goose: One Year, Seven Goslings, and the Flight of My Life by Michael Quetting. ARC published by Greystone Books in 2018. 248 p. ISBN: 978-1-77164-361-0 NOTE:  I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was made possible via the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing. 

Book Review: 'Then Came Life' by Geralyn Lucas

✰✰✰½ The journey from cancer diagnosis to treatment to survival is different for each patient. Geralyn Lucas has lived under the shadow of cancer for nearly two decades. With lipstick as her shield, she has endured it all to come out on the other side with two miracle babies, a supportive husband, and a “normal” everyday life. Lucas writes with brutal honesty and humor as she describes everything from preschool interviewing and potty training to interacting with her mean tween daughter and couples counseling. Meanwhile, she must face her fears as people important to her face their own battles with cancer. As the years go by, Lucas learns to move beyond the fear of a cancer recurrence and really embrace life.

The Bottom Line: This is a very quick read. Nonetheless, it is repetitive in several spots. For example, there were several references to the challenges of putting on Spanx and the quest for Botox. Each chapter is an essay from a different point in her life, and it is the last few chapters of this book that make it a worthwhile read. Readers will laugh and cry along with the author. Fans of the author's first book, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, will want to pick up a copy. Also, recommended for anyone who has survived an illness and is struggling to move forward. Readers interested in mother-daughter relationships would enjoy this book as well.

Details: Then Came Life: Living with Courage, Spirit, and Gratitude After Breast Cancer by Geralyn Lucas. Advance Uncorrected Proof published in 2014. 240 p. ISBN: 978-1-592-40895-5 NOTE: I received a free copy from Gotham Books in exchange for an honest review. This was made possible by the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing.

Book Review: 'Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words' by Kate Whouley

✰✰✰✰ Learning that a loved one has dementia is dreaded by many of us. It can be a difficult and confusing time. Author Kate Whouley takes the reader on a heartfelt journey as she comes to terms with her own mother's diagnosis. Upon finding her mother's house littered with crumpled tissues, magazines, newspapers, cigarette wrappers, and smelly cat food cans, Whouley realizes something is wrong. Is her mother drinking again? No, it is perhaps worse, and nothing could have prepared the author for her mother's downward spiral into the disease that is Alzheimer's. 

Whouley shares her struggles to learn as much as she can about the disease and to find a way keep her mother safe. She must find a balance between work and caring for her mother, but in a way she has always cared for her. Growing up as an only child, Whouley shouldered a lot of responsibility when her mother divorced, remarried, and became an alcoholic. However, this is a new challenge that Whouley can't face alone. Along the way she is fortunate to find Suzanne, an elder-care consultant, to guide her through the stages of her mother's illness. Whouley also learns to rely on friends for support as she works her way through feelings of worry, guilt, and doubt. Additionally, Whouley takes solace in her music and incorporates her love of music into the book as it relates to her relationship with her mother.

The author wants to be the good daughter, but she discovers that it is not always easy to make the right decisions for her mother. Anne, her mother, has always been a little bit difficult, and now Anne resists the changes forced upon her. While Whouley struggles with the process of placing her mother in assisted living and finding the resources to pay all the bills, Anne resists losing her freedom little by little. By sharing their story, Whouley reminds readers that even the aged and the infirm are deserving of our love and respect.

The Bottom Line: Author Kate Whouley takes a very candid and open approach in her memoir as she gently reflects on her feelings of doubt, guilt, anger, and acceptance of her mother's illness. Reading the book is like talking to an old friend who understands about the struggles one faces when caring for aged parents. This quick read explores the complex relationship between mothers and daughters. It also highlights the importance of family relationships and finding a strong support system in your friends. Kate's touching reflections are told compassionately and will leave readers with a bittersweet sense of inspiration. Highly recommended for anyone struggling with caring for an aging parent diagnosed with dementia.

This book reminded me of Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat by David Dosa (which I reviewed in 2011). While Dosa's book features anecdotes about several patients, Whouley goes into much more personal detail. This would be a good choice for a nonfiction book discussion club. For those groups considering it, you can find the Reader's Guide (including discussion questions) here.

Details: Remembering the Music, Forgetting the Words: Travels with Mom in the Land of Dementia by Kate Whouley. Hardcover published by Beacon Press in 2011. 240 p. ISBN: 978-0-8070-0319-0