After meeting Felipe in Bali at the end of Eat, Pray, Love, Gilbert decides not to marry him and just live as life partners. But the United States government determines that their arrangement does not suit them and Gilbert and Felipe are forced to get married if they want to live in the United States. While waiting to be allowed back into the States, Gilbert decides she wants to understand marriage better. Neither her or Felipe are excited about getting married after both of their divorces. Gilbert wants to feel more prepared this time around. Although I didn't know how learning about marriage rituals in Southeast Asia helped her feel prepared for marriage, I did enjoy reading about what she learned about. This is not an exhaustive study on marriage through history or marriage customs around the world. But just one woman trying to find a balance between being single and being married. I did not find Gilbert whiny at all (ok, maybe for a moment when she went to Cambodia). Gilbert and Felipe travel through Southeast Asia for 10 months but I wouldn't call this a travelogue. It's very much a memoir of her time and her thoughts on marriage.
A lot of the research she found on marriage gave me a lot to think about. My favorite part had to be about the Auntie Brigade (10% of women never have kids) because that's me. Couples who marry when they are older (over 30) and educated have a lower divorce rate. The expectation that people bring to their marriage also affects their happiness and the success of their marriage.
I'd recommend it to those who enjoy reading someone else's research or learn more about how marriage has changed throughout history. Others who shared their thoughts on Committed: The Girl From The Ghetto, Joy's Book Blog, Just Short of Crazy, Lady Domestic, and Nomadreader.
I liked Eat, Love, Pray big time and have a copy of this one that I have still to read! sounds like a great story!
ReplyDeleteI thought the name was familiar ;)
ReplyDeleteI was not to fond of the movie so dunno