5 must-read Elizabeth Gilbert books that go beyond Eat, Pray, Love

Indian Express

2 days ago

(Written by Somya Panwar)
Elizabeth Gilbert is an award-winning author and journalist, best known as a celebrated memoirist after the runaway success of her New York Times bestselling book Eat, Pray, Love. Inspiring millions to chase their inner calling, Gilbert's literary journey extends far beyond novels, her achievements and body of work establish her as a versatile and deeply reflective writer. Through her short stories, biographies, and essays, Liz continues to evolve as a storyteller. While her travelogue may have sparked wanderlust around the world, her other books brim with just as much wisdom and creative depth. Here, we delve into five of her works that explore the many layers of her literary universe.
A book that feels like a warm hug, and wraps you in comfort, yet its romanticised solutions to the complexities of life may just leave you baffled. Eat, Pray, Love has garnered a polarised response over the years. The book blew up in 2006, and gained popularity like no other, becoming an international bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide. After staying on the New York Times Bestseller list for 187 weeks, Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to the memoir, and later filmmaker Ryan Murphy adapted it into a film starring Julia Roberts.
Vulnerable, raw, and unfiltered – Elizabeth Gilbert's writing feels like brunch with an honest friend. Her depiction of a privileged, spiritual journey drew both admiration and critique, with some calling it a symbol of New Age narcissism. However, the book goes beyond Gilbert eating in Italy, praying in India, and loving in Indonesia. It chronicles her struggle to let go of the life she thought she wanted, navigating a painful divorce, a failed rebound relationship, and a spiral into depression.
Spanning three countries over twelve months (with 36 chapters devoted to each), Eat, Pray, Love is a memoir of spiritual enlightenment, personal rediscovery, and emotional resilience. If you have ever wondered how a wealthy woman in her 30s might confront an existential crisis, this memoir offers a front-row seats.
What if tragedy could lead you to your truest self? All the Way to the River set to release on September 9, 2025 promises to be one of Gilbert's most personal and emotionally charged works yet. This forthcoming memoir explores love, addiction, grief, and recovery, chronicling her relationship with her best friend and later partner, Rayya Elias.
Gilbert met Elias in 2000, and their friendship evolved into a romantic relationship—one Gilbert publicly acknowledged in 2016 after Rayya's cancer diagnosis. According to The Guardian, writing this memoir was Gilbert's longest and most emotionally taxing project, taking over seven years to complete. Titled after an inside joke between the two, All the Way to the River is more than a book—it's a deep emotional excavation of love, loss, and healing.
In it, Gilbert confronts the complexities of addiction, death, and the shadows that accompany grief. As readers, we can expect a tender, soul-baring account of enduring love and the strength it takes to keep living after devastating loss. Keep your tissues ready, this one promises to be a tearjerker.
'Perfectionism is a particularly evil lure for women,' writes Gilbert, who herself constantly wrestles with the pursuit of creative excellence. In Big Magic, she speaks directly to the dreamers, the makers, and the fearful creatives trapped by their own doubts.
This book isn't about whimsical inspiration—it's about discipline, courage, and the messy realities of the creative process. Gilbert urges readers to stop waiting for divine inspiration and instead engage with the mundane and the difficult parts of making art. Creativity, she argues, exists in everything—from painting to gardening—and is accessible to all.
Big Magic is structured into six sections: 'Courage,' 'Enchantment,' 'Permission,' 'Persistence,' 'Trust,' and 'Divinity.' Each section addresses a challenge creators face, offering wisdom rooted in experience. Gilbert's honest and pragmatic voice stands out—especially for readers who may have dismissed Eat, Pray, Love. Here, she offers clarity, motivation, and actionable insight for anyone yearning to live a more creative life. The prestige can wait, first comes the work.
If you want to understand the range of Gilbert's writing, City of Girls is the book to start with. Published in 2019 and set in the World War II era, this historical novel showcases her flair for character-driven narratives and experimental formats.
The story is told through a long letter written by the protagonist, Vivian Morris, to a woman named Angela, reflecting on her youth. This epistolary structure adds intimacy and originality to the storytelling. Nineteen-year-old Vivian arrives in New York City after dropping out of Vassar College, and her life takes a wild turn as she joins her aunt Peg's eccentric theatre company, the Lily Playhouse.
Gilbert captures the glamour, grit, and chaos of 1940s New York with exquisite detail, from prohibition-era parties to sexual awakenings. Vivian's journey is about casting off shame, embracing independence, and finding her voice as a woman in a time when conformity was the norm. Feminist, bold, and vibrantly researched, City of Girls is a celebration of unapologetic womanhood and the freedom to make mistakes.
What defines masculinity in modern America? The Last American Man explores this through the life of Eustace Conway, a man who rejected materialism and moved to the Appalachian Mountains to live off the land. Gilbert, who met Conway through his brother (a longtime friend), initially profiled him for GQ Magazine before expanding the story into this compelling biography.
The book became a commercial success, selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. Conway—who left home at 17 after clashing with a perfectionist father—became a larger-than-life figure. He wears animal skins, survives in the wild, and teaches others how to do the same, all while embodying a radical rejection of modern life. But he is no romanticised hero, Gilbert also lays bare his emotional complexities and contradictions.
Often compared to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, this National Book Award–nominated biography is both inspiring and sobering. Gilbert brings empathy, insight, and literary precision to a real-life character who's as captivating as any fictional protagonist.
(The writer is an intern with The Indian Express.)