Elizabeth Gilbert Shares Helpful Creative Processes

[clockworkscott]

shame on those of you who buy this woman's books, for you're only encouraging here. if you insist on reading this garbage, at least borrow her books from your library, even stealing them is superior to giving her money.

[TheSpiralnotebook]

This self-involved chatter-box has been given too much encouragement...she's just a little too delighted with every little gumball idea that drops out of her mouth.

[sgtmcwallace]

not very useful

[lilteenyweenytuna]

@donkeyboy712 Amen! Although one little thing I have to say is that I'm 15 and i've never been married (thank god), depressed (to her extent) or experienced anything she's gone through, but I think the emotions she experiences and the self discovery through her personally specific events are universal. Who doesn't want to forgive and let go or find englightenment.

[ThePriyatama]

Wonderful...

[iheartdrums86]

smoke pot?

[milca1223]

I have read some comments about her memoir been lame and her getting rich because of her divorce; i don't know what's the fuzz about that because there a many people getting rich on our diseases, our taxes, our need to eat, live in a save place and sleep. That's her prerrogative, she made lemonade out of lemons, good for her!

[ssaabb007]

Wondefull person, beautiful story, great movie...

[drtlmn]

God I love her! Her intellect and attitude makes me wanna read her books.

[mslisajoy]

Many blessings to you elizabeth, thank you for sharing with us the talents you have, the life experiences that whisper through your words, written on paper for all of us to enjoy. 

[pinkiruina]

Try online Asian women profiles lushfmlk.info

[tehloop]

haha, wait. I meant to say, emo teenagers are deep people, not rich. Although they are funny as hell, so they're rich in one way. And yes, everything but that last sentence was sarcasm.

[milca1223]

@tehloop If it where a man, would it make any difference? People learn by experiences. And don't tell me your all and saint-like that if you have the opprtunity to do the same you woun't... right... and if you don't liek her, don't watch it.

[tehloop]

@milca1223

No, if it were a man it would be equally reprehensible, it's just that people would have the brains to see him for what he is because it's popular today to rag on men for being pigs. There is nothing heroic about cheating on your spouse and then ditching them to screw around the world. And no, I wouldn't have done that because not will I not run from my responsibilities, nor is there nothing to be gained acting like a stupid tourist. And I'll slam her if I want to.

[milca1223]

@tehloop well then, hopefully you'll have a beautiful marriage and won't get depress by any differences you'll have with your spouse. For what i've read she did not cheat on him, she was miserable in a marriage she wished it would be forever (unfortunately that was not her case) and wasn't happy of the outcome or the road her life was taking. I don't see him complaining about his share of the settlement, which SHE had to pay him, including any future best-seller; a.i. eat pray love.

[TheMorgendugg]

Most greatest writers, especially women, has always been critisized by several ignorant people. For the rest of us, we all know that this author is amazing, and her whole persona shares so much intellect and wisdom and lust for life.

[saprissa30]

this girl is pathetic

She is one of the most boring wirters ever

She is empty

[lizark004]

oh that was @tehloop

[lizark004]

There is a difference between criticism and just plain ignorant and narrow minded opinions like the "husbands" who blame her for them leaving them for their laziness. They left them for a reason. Just saying; go ahead and criticize but have something to back it up i guess. It makes me so angry that men think they own their wives and can tell them what to do.

[tehloop]

@lizark004

Men think they own their wives? What? Liz Gilbert cheated on her husband, and then left that sucker to have flings across the globe and whined about it all the while. There's no nice way to call her out for what she did. Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade.

[erin303mezzo]

I love listening to this woman speak. I have just watched about 5 youtube videos interviewing Liz Gilbert, and she is so composed and so well-spoken. I really enjoy her perspective on life, and her creative process.

[sheerblonde823]

Everyone I know who's grown up on a farm has been successful. Discipline. Maybe I'll just have to raise kids on a farm. haha!

[leatherx]

i read the book too, but what striked me the most was that it tiakes to be middle or upper class to be able to make a trip like this .

So... this book to me was only for some "chosen" ones ( frustrated middle class wives?) , that was my impression.

I wonder how impact this book would have been if the autor was working class , non kaukasian and lived maybe in Harlem .or not necessary american ?

does anybody esle share the same impression ?

[tdcreek1990]

@leatherx: I sorta got the same feeling but I think a trip like that is attainable, regardless of what your ethnicity, geographic location, or economic status is. She was able to do it, not only because she could afford to, but because she had nothing holding her back. She had no children, no husband, or no other obligations. I believe people will read the book and become inspired to do something similar, especially before they settle down and start to have obligations or other distractions.

[writerforlifeify]

@leatherx You make a good point. Got a question for you: Can you re-cast the movie in your mind with Viola Davis in the lead role? Also imagine that Ms Davis' character is a single mom living in Harlem. How would she go about 'finding herself'......or can she have that luxury/opportunity? Makes you think.....

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

People who meditate are idiots. If you want to quieten your mind, just take a nap.

[brick4sale]

@MomoTheBellyDancer meditation is not stupid, it's ancient practice that helps many people, it's good for lowering blood pressure.

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

@brick4sale

"it's ancient practice"

So are bloodletting and female circumcision. Your point?

[brick4sale]

@MomoTheBellyDancer whoa I thought we were talking about meditation, why are we talking about female circumcision? Meditation is helpful to the body and mind, female circumcision is not you can't compare the two.

[IMRIS100]

Das Buch "Eat, Pray, Love" enthält soviel Wahrheit über das Leben und die Liebe. Es ist unglaublich! Elizabeth Gilbert hat ein wundervolles Werk geschaffen.

[donkeyboy712]

People look so ignorant when they comment on an Author without reading the book (its obvious who you are). If you have never been married, depressed, or experienced what she has gone thru, then keep your mouths shut. Commenting on something you know nothing about makes you look stupid. Liz Gilbert is brilliant, and anyone with any culture, intelligence, or experience would know that.

[smitryan]

@donkeyboy712

I've read the book, been depressed and had experiences with selfish bitches like her on more than one occassion. " I'm never getting married again ", ( unless I find a guy willing to cook and clean for me )

[Hzqi]

@donkeyboy712

I'm afraid we have different standards of "brilliant". And I've read the book. I think she's got an effective delivery of words, and can turn an entertaining "moment". Beyond that, I don't think she's even a good writer, let alone a "BRILLIANT" one.

She does inadvertently make a nicely detailed depiction of BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER however. Any men reading this, take note, and consider the opinion that women in your life have of this book/movie a LITNUS TEST.

[tehloop]

@donkeyboy712

Actually Donkeyshit, I think I'd have to search long and hard for someone who has never been married, divorced, or depressed. I mean seriously? I've gone through way more hell than this woman and I'm only 20-fucking-four! This woman is not the second coming of Mother Theresa, she's your average rich white American, totally unacquainted with Western culture, let alone her own American culture, complete with a fetish for foreign countries.

[donkeyboy712]

@tehloop Donkeyshit, eh? Is that the best you can do? What are you, 12? With a bitter attitude, black heart, and no soul, it wouldn't surprise me that you're probably alone......!!! Wishing you a Merry Christmas seems like a waste of my time. Do try and get laid, it would probably do you good.

[tehloop]

@donkeyboy712

Oh I would say worse but given how you're such a pathetic sap, you'd probably curl into a ball and cry. After all, you were too choked up over my black heart to read my age you nimrod, it's not a surprise you can't account for your own shitty behavior. Believe me, being alone is preferable to dealing with morons like you. But hey, getting laid did Gilbert a lot of good in the end. Seriously, she should have saved everyone's time and gone to a nightclub right after the divorce.

[milca1223]

@tehloop then write a book on your depressions and problems and get rich out of it. she's not the first one and neither the last one to do so. The list contains thousands and thousands of authors, journalists, songwriters, doctors, psychiatrists, phsycologysts, executies, pharmaceuticals, etc. you name it.

[tehloop]

@milca1223

Actually, what I object to is how this rich white woman can just whine and people automatically pat her back like she's a saint. People will gobble up shit I grant you that, as I'm not going to lose sleep over Danielle Steele making another buck, but this is the supposedly true account of a random white woman being weak and people think she's a hero. What a joke.

[mapamoowalker]

@tehloop milca1223, you may not be aware that your comment is extremely prejudice. Depression is a human condition, not a white, black or yellow condition. Grow up, sweet heart and realise that you are part of a human race, not an exclusive race.

[tehloop]

@mapamoowalker

Wow, I just ragged on Gilbert for adding to the status quo of being wealthy and white and generally acting like a wealthy white person instead of showing any awareness about the world around her, but you managed to twist that into statement quasi-racism instead of actually responding to my points. And I thought I was the biggest toolbox on Youtube.

[mapamoowalker]

@tehloop Is name calling really necessary? By the way, aren't we missing the point of her talk? The book is about depression, this talk is actually about the creative writing process.

[tehloop]

@mapamoowalker

If you want to call someone racist, you're already bringing up something nasty. Hey sweetheart, how about you go to a US Marine Corps barracks and call them all racists? I'm sure you won't get a foot up your ass.

[mapamoowalker]

@tehloop what has the us marine corps got to do with anything? your comment makes no sense

[tehloop]

@mapamoowalker

When you call someone prejudiced based on race, you're calling them a racist you stupid cow. The fact that you failed to grasp the repercussions of calling the Marine Corps racist and why they would want to shove a foot up your ass, is a testament to your idiocy.

[mapamoowalker]

@tehloop . btw i never used the word racist. i said prejudice.

[gilli39]

@donkeyboy712 Yes because all people with culture and intelligence share the same opinions, and talk down to everybody who thinks differently then them.

[lizark004]

if you don't like her keep your rude comments to yourself. its her life not yours. if your married stay with your husband and you shouldnt get mad at her for deciding to leave hers.. geez.. ppl these days.. judgemental.. its her life.. not her husbands life.. honestly alot of women stay with their husbands even if they are not happy.. So many ideas generated by couples.. everyone is there own person

[smitryan]

@lizark004

Not everyone cashes in on their selfishness; but with dumb women like you it's very easy to do in today's culture.

[tehloop]

@lizark004 So nobody can criticize Elizabeth Gilbert?

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop criticism is fine however, blatant disrespect isn't. 

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

Why the hell shouldn't I bash Elizabeth Gilbert? It's not like I'm mocking the memory of Kitty Genovese or anyone close to you. Secondly, Gilbert put herself on display and told the unabashed truth about her life and it just so happens there is so much hypocrisy and the like about her that it's sick. I'll call Elizabeth Gilbert a stupid cunt as much as I want.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop dude. you really dont get anything do you. if she were a stupid cunt she would have blamed him. she would have sat there writing that book out of hatred and disdain for him and not taken the blame for what happened in her marriage and in her life. she stood up for her mistakes and she accepted them and moved past them. that is the point of her entire story. its the thing that attracts people to her. and its not about mocking its about saying weird shit that makes no sense in this world.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

Yeah she got over her problems alright. Nothing says problems worth writing over and having a one-year vacation only rich people can afford like a divorce and another failed relationship, based in adultery, no less! That's why she ran off to foreign countries like a stupid tourist instead of going to therapy or volunteering. Whining about men and having a fetish for Hinduism. Oh, and for all that, she still ended up with a man. She should have just went to a nightclub instead.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop you really didnt read the book did you. the separation happened before the boyfriend, the did try, she tried for a long time before she realized that she couldnt. its not a heavy fetish for Hinduism its called belief. she did it so she could escape and actually have the time to contemplate her self and her work and her life. she went to these countries with the help of a magazine assignment, and she didnt go there and spend lots of money. she went there and lived.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop you may have an issue with here, but you really just have an issue with a person who was so lost, they could not see past the darkness. you have an issue with a women who was strong enough to say this isn't working and its killing me. if a man did it you would say it isn't wrong, he had a right to do it.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

No someone who is in the darkness is someone who lost his wife and only has his son left or otherwise, not someone who got a divorce. That same person would also be fucking around by world-hopping on $200,000 advance money unless he decided to confront his problems and change, not frolic around and end up with some new piece of ass. Her belief in Hinduism is as shallow as her tastes in men. There's nothing more mystical than the East right? And Brazilians are all dashing.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop not someone who got a divorce, my mother had 3 kids, my father is an abusive drunk ass, she got edjucated and she survived and found her self. it was difficult with less resources. but she found the light out of that darkness just as liz did. and she didnt spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on world-hopping, she did a job which helped her get there, she spent money she had on staying in a warm place and getting food.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop dont judge her when you have no clue about what she went though. and dont presume u know anything about her. i dont, but i do accept what is presented to me, and when i research enough, unlike you, i decide on how credible that person is and what they have presented.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

Uhh, I would say your mom went through far more than Gilbert just because of your dad being an alcoholic douche. Gilbert went through none of that and so it doesn't take a pair to say to your average Joe that you want out. That's dark alright. Emo teenagers are rich people too amirite? Yes, Gilbert had a job which helped her get there. A rich white girl job. I would say her basic necessities come to her as easy as getting up from bed and taking that morning piss.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop lol rich? hardly, you really know nothing about her life. she wasn't rich, her parents weren't rich so don't say crap that makes no sense. you have just proven that you know nothing about her life and about what you are talking about. thank you for making this so much easier. you have just lost and you have officially pownd ur self.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

Yes it is impossible that people can get rich. No, Stephen King never became rich, he's still living in a trailer! No, Elizabeth Gilbert never made a profession as a highly-paid freelance writer! Magazine jobs are hardly little paying. That, and her parents had great professions. Her daddy was a chemical engineer and her mommy a nurse. It's not like she ever ate the rat-nibbled leftovers from a trashcan. More likely, her parents chose to live in the country because they could.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop whatever dude. you have no clue as to what your talking about, your sexist, and im done playing games with you. you have nothing intelligent to say and obviously know nothing about her. what does her economic status have anything to do with anything. her story is not less valid for it. why you seem so certain of that i dont know.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

Her being rich trivializes everything because she chose to use her money to run because she broke up with someone, not a wife-beater. This is a travelogue from a rich white girl on vacation, not someone who has legitimately suffered. If she found solace in helping others or realized the world doesn't revolve around her, I would see her as profound. Instead she found another man, decided Hinduism was cool because it comes from the mystical East, and likes trendy yoga.

[caciquepadilla]

@tehloop lol that all is an assertion based on very little truth. and again she didnt have a lot of money at the time, she actually got nothing from the divorce. she gave up everything. you are ignorant and arrogant and apparently a racist as it has nothing to do with her being white. you know nothing about her. im not talking about facts you pulled out of her ass i mean her. im done with you, go play in the corner by ur self, lord knows no one else wants you around.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

Sorry, what is a $200,000 advance deal to have a vacation around the world from a well-paying magazine job, not to mention the guaranteed sales from a book? Racist? Sexist? She's a rich white woman, it's like calling me racist and sexist for saying rich white preppy kids never have to deal with the problems impoverished minorities face everyday of their lives by circumstance alone.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

In fact if she went to the poorer places of Bali and India to help the people there, I probably wouldn't mind so much. I know a few friends in India who have seen dead babies on the roadways and little kids stoning dogs to death. A foreign country isn't anything special because it's not your native homeland, and certainly not some dreamland where all your problems go away. It's a place with its own culture and history, just like America.

[tehloop]

@caciquepadilla

For the love of Christ, divorces happen all the time. You would probably kill yourself reading memoirs from soldiers who have nightmares in war. This stupid woman only helped someone in Bali because she was rich, and oh, that person was also portrayed negatively because they didn't buy the house in time Gilbert's visa terminated. Never mind that there's just as much spirituality in American Christianity as in India. Yes stupid, Christianity is okay even if it isn't foreign.

[etellurian]

YouTube recommended this video. What was her best creative experience and did it enhance the lives of others?

E-T

[scarlettbond]

@etellurian it was the process of writing Eat Pray Love and it enhanced the lives of thousands of people, really :)

[smitryan]

What a completely fraudulant women. Only feels good about herself when she has a man in her life. And now she's got one, ( for now ).

Way to romantasize divorce, ( and get rich off it ).

[iqsquared]

Hi everyone,

Eat, Pray, Love fans - this event is not to be missed!! Elizabeth Gilbert will be giving a talk about her life and writing at Cadogan Hall, London on 15th September 2010. Check out our website IntelligenceSquared for info and tickets.

For those not in the country you can stream the event online!

[creativelife5]

Remember, people, narcissism is the breeding ground for neurosis.

Move yourself aside, and the creativity will come to you. It will not, if you are constantly searching.

[brick4sale]

@creativelife5 so true

[WisdomProductions488]

Elizabeth Gilber one the greatest writers of our century

[smitryan]

@WisdomProductions488 Bwahhhaaaaaaa ! Obviously you are just starting to read. She's entertaining. But a trash bag compared to DFWallace.

[brick4sale]

@WisdomProductions488 that's a joke right?

[saprissa30]

@WisdomProductions488 you are 10 years old

[ephilcox]

She's never claimed to equal Plato, folks. She writes in a fun, conversational tone and it's obvious she didn't pen the book with the intention of creating a best-seller. Simply traveling along with her and understanding her thought processes and the emotional catharses is what makes the book a rewarding read.

[Roshea1956]

nice person but I do not share her beliefs or her nothingness

[caciquepadilla]

nothingness??? whats that mean?

[misseyelash]

consistent with her self-absorption in Eat Pray Love: it's all about me me me. helpful creative process? helpful to whom? Herself, because from her perspective, mostly the world is arranged around her for her benefit.

[caciquepadilla]

it was a memoir about her life and her journey. of course its about her. her life has been writing about others, and now she gets to write about her self. and its helpful to figure out our own creative process. this is what she did, not what we have to do.

[Jefferdaughter]

@misseyelash - As others have mentioned, 'Eat. Pray', Love' is a personal memoir about her journey through a difficult part of her life.

Her willingness to share that journey - the external one through three countries, and the, yes highly personal internal journey, with her readers is an act of generousity.

[smitryan]

@misseyelash Thank you !!!! Someone finally agrees with me. " I only care about my hapiness, f*** my husband, I'm going to Italy !!! "

And then I'll meet a NEW, better man that cooks and cleans for me !!!

Fu** her and everyone that looks like her.

[CmKota]

@smitryan ... people fall out of love and it's heartbreaking, it seems the movie didn't capture what she really went trough...

[smitryan]

@CmKota

The book doesn't outline it any better except she " changed her mind "

[l1zm0tta]

Is her sense of fashion a strategy so we pay more attention to what she says? Not that I am a shallow person that only cares for appearance but I did notice she doesn't wear accordingly, I mean not like everyone else would wear in her position. She is beautiful naturally, but I don't see her trying to look certain way. I'd say that is a strategy... sometimes intelligent women can be underestimated because of their looks.

what you think?

[EuroInvicta]

It's probably both. Many creative types, especially literary ones tend not to care so much about their appearance, maybe because they live in their heads. And some of it may be strategy, so their looks aren't distracting, or make people judge them in a different way. But I think it's more about the personality of the woman herself. This gal seems really down to earth, more concerned with bigger things that getting her nails tipped and making sure her eyeliner's perfectly feathered...

[ElegantPaws01]

@l1zm0tta Quaker background. That should answer your question.

[claireclaire927]

She is the best!!

[darlenenantes]

I LOVE HER \o/

[gustu88]

eat pray and love outhor

[JoaquimParis]

Sell you soul?....ok ...i know she´s a good-easy-to follow-during-the-book-pleasan­t writer....but dude....i believe you need a little bit more of self estime. rs. peace.

[djsatti]

I would sell my soul to spend a day with her....

[andydenson2000]

One of the best writers!

[smitryan]

@andydenson2000 My 10-year-old daughter writes better than her.

[saprissa30]

@smitryan you 100% right

[creten69]

what is this suppose to be?