Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

So I watched the crap movie with Julia Roberts called Eat, Pray, Love and was not at all impressed with this so called "year long journey" the main character was taking to really figure herself out. I thought this movie was boring at best and highly cliched and irritating at its worst. I found it less about a woman working through her shit (as billed) and more about a romance. Which BLAH at Hollywood! Give me a story that is genuine and don't assume I have to have a hot guy in a movie for me to go see it! (confession.... hot guys don't hurt.... yep I'm a hypocrite)

None of these things apply to the book. I could relate to this writer lady quite a bit. I too have had that moment on the bathroom floor crying and not having any idea how to get myself up. I have struggled with the darkness of depression and learned to cope with it as best as I can. I have also medicated myself once in my depression history with zero luck with it helping me. And a total loss of my ability to express myself. Needless to say, I didn't stay on those meds very long.

Elizabeth Gilbert speaks openly and honestly about the good, the bad, and the ugly all lurking in her closet. She is humble and yet not at all depending on the circumstances. I don't so much relate to a "God" aspect the way that Elizabeth does. I do, however, connect with the voice in your own heart to guide you through the tough bits. I really liked this book. I like the concept of smiling with your liver. And while I half think this means I should drink a little more, I get the concept of letting a smile flow through your body. This is why I have put this on my 30 for 30 list. I want to feel a smile flow through my whole body.

While my personal spiritual journey was completely different; and will always be completely different I can appreciate the hard work. I recommend this book to people who dig the subject of self realization, those going through a spiritual change, or anyone who enjoys good writing. I will put this out there, if you are of the sensitive variety there are several doom and gloom dark moments that can trigger all sorts of internal whatnot. Be prepared, we dive into her icky sicky right with her.

I rocked the audiobook read by the author for this book. I have always been a sucker for writers reading their own work. If you like audiobooks I highly recommend that you get this. You really get a sense of who this woman is through her voice.

While writing this review I have been listening to Adele (19) and the Beatles (Abby Road). What are you listening to?

This is Where I Leave You By: Jonathan Tropper

I liked this book. At first I wasn't sure that I would like it, let alone finish it. Sometimes the internal monologue of a Jewish male is pretty far from what I can relate to. I was, sadly, not raised by a crazy Jewish woman. I lived in New Jersey while I was young and I had wished that my Mother was a crazy Jew more than once. As it is she is a crazy Mormon Mother.
This book is about a family shitting Shiva for their recently deceased Father. For those who are unaware Shiva is a Jewish custom of morning for a week with family members. Shiva means seven in Hebrew. You sit either on the floor or close to the floor and people pay their respects by visiting you during this week long period. This family, like my own, has not spent much time all together in quite a while. There is the dysfunction that all families suffer from and then there is the extreme dysfunction.
The main voice of this book is Judd. Shortly before his Father's death from cancer Judd walks in on his wife doing that naked tango with Judd's boss. Judd is floored by the betrayal of his wife and then this devastation is compacted by his Father's death which is compacted, again, when Judd finds out his soon to be ex is carrying his baby.
I can't say that this was a light read by any means. You get right in the thick of Judd's depression and regret. You swim in it with him for most of the book. The last few chapters finally you are pulled up by the hair and things end on a mostly positive note.
The female voices in this book made me think of my friend Albert. If Albert were a Jewish woman, he would have written this book.

I recommend this book to those who can handle a depressing story without it sucking them in too much and those who can relate to mourning. I would also suggest this book to anyone who enjoys a good story. Jonathan Tropper can tell a good story. The individual voices of his characters are all clear, and while sometimes cliched, they are never confused.

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta

I didn't know what to think of this book after a few chapters. Now that I have finished this book I am still not sure how I feel about it. I connected with the female lead, Ruth. She really just wanted to tell the truth to the youth she was hired to teach about sex. She was held back by the religious right which was taking over in her community. Growing up in SLC, I grew up in schools that only taught abstinence. I will say this about that brand of curriculum, I started having sex when I was 14. It would have been nice if I had been nice to have been armed with knowledge. This is not to imply I wouldn't have had sex at such a young age. I would have still fucked like a hot bunny even with the knowledge. I just would have been safe from the get go, rather than just being lucky before a gay friend of mine showed me the ins and outs of safe sex.
The Abstinence Teacher brought up a lot of issues for me. My big RED FLAG went up with all the GOD talk in this book. I was worried I had just checked out a book that was trying to convert me. We see Ruth struggle with the religious right not only in her career with them putting a stop to Sex Ed and replacing it with Abstinence teaching; but Ruth also has to deal with the same people in her personal life. Ruth becomes outraged when her daughter's soccer coach holds a team prayer at the end of a game. Frankly, I would have flipped my top. I got my feathers ruffled by the way the Christians in this book talk and act. I felt like I was back in high school and those snotty bitches were calling me the devil again.
I think my personal bias against religious people prevented me from liking Tim. He is the male lead in this book. He is a born again Christian and not having an easy go of it. He is a recovering addict who basically transfers his addiction for drugs to God. Having more than one junkie for a friend I know how easily some flip the switch from heroin to Jesus. I think both addictions are equally dangerous to your well being.

Over all this book was a lot of lead up and talk to an anti climatic end. Did I like it? I can't say for sure. I have been thinking about that since finishing the book. I will say I liked parts of it. Parts of it made me so disgusted with the accuracy of how some people behave I had to walk away from it for a while. Over all I would recommend this book, with the warning that if you have the same prejudice against religious people you may get your panties in a bunch.