Discover, Engage, Achieve

Barefoot

2008-11-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

So, I have recently finished a book by Elin Hilderbrand called Barefoot. Now, I enjoyed the book, and I quickly ate up every word. I connected with some of the characters, and I enjoyed the love story of some of the other characters. The problem is, there is one character that I absolutely HATED. I mean HATED. My understanding is that she was supposed to be portrayed as someone who isn't perfect, and she isn't, by any means, the heroine in the story. But I HATED her. It almost made it unbearable to read. She was a woe-is-me, selfish, aggravating person. Who I know - in real life. I've got some friends like this woman. And she personified everything I do not like in these friends of mine (not a book club friend). So, my question to everyone is, have you ever confronted this in a book? What have you done? Were you able to finish the book? Did it detract from the story or add to it?
I was able to finish the book, as I said above. It was a touching story about a sister who is dealing with lung cancer, another sister who is dealing with the loss of her job in a scandalous fashion, and a friend who is in a bad marriage and just found out she's pregnant. They all go to Nantucket for the summer to swallow what has happened in their worlds. Love, heartbreak, intrigue. I still enjoyed the book, despite my dislike of a main character. I recommend it, although partially because I'm curious what other people think of Brenda. (I am also somewhat selfish in my motivations, apparently. Hmm...)

What is this I hear? Outlander is being made into a MOVIE???

2008-11-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

For any of our book club members or wannabe members... if you didn't already know that the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon is THE BEST historical fiction EVER written (and therefore the best book series ever written if your favorite genre is historical fiction/adventure).

Now... my dissertation procrastination has led me to some groundbreaking news... there will be an Outlander movie scheduled to begin shooting in 2009.

Apparently there are others out there who are extremely excited about this prospect and there is a ton of speculation among people with ALOT of time on their hands who have proposed casting for various roles... check these out.

Johnny Depp as Jack Randall?
Jude Law as Lord John?
I like Rachel Weiss for Clare - I think it does need to be an English actress.
This Gerard Butler is a Scottish actor (recently stared in 300) who seems to get the most votes: he is hot but is he rugged and big enough to pull off Jamie?

Thoughts???

Travel Reading

2008-11-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

So, I've been thinking of a new topic that we can all get in on discussing. Here's the best I've come up with:
What do you read when you travel? Do you prefer magazines for the simplicity and ease of short articles that are easily disrupted? Or are you more into your engrossing novel du jour to help distract from the annoyances at the airport? Crosswords or Soduku puzzles more your thing?
More importantly, why? Lets discuss!!

Fantastic new book series!

2008-09-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

Quick post from a recent insomniac: Stephanie Meyer has written a book series that has made me read until my eyes cannot stay open. I am already on book 2. Highly recommend this book series if you are at all into vampire books. It is an easy read and is honestly very tame, not scary and with a teenage target audience so even the romance is quite PG rated.

It takes place in modern day Forks, Washington which for me is quite hilarious *yes, Liz I said Forks, WA. I am bringing the books for you to read in less than 2 weeks! The characters are great, and I just love getting swept up in the surreal world of vampires living among us. Check out the link to Amazon reviews, apparently she is being called the next J.K. Rowling! What an amazing compliment!

Book 1: Twilight
Book 2: New Moon
Book 3: Eclipse
Book 4: Breaking Dawn

Back to the real world

2008-08-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

My first posting - thanks for the invite - Kate! Just back from a 2 week vacation out west. Sorry we missed you and Rae in Albuquerque! My hubby and I had a great time together - got along great - we packed in a lot each day and returned to the hotel at dark - dirty, exausted, and hungry only to start the next day ready for more. The pic is from the top of Angel's Landing at Zion National Park. An awesome, somewhat scary hike. Hopefully, you've all been there - it's a must see!

I'm reading eat, pray, love - compliments of Ruth. I'm mid-way thru. I send Jill text messages while reading it testing her Italian...I stumped her on "tasso"! Ruth could of written this book....

Jill is moving back to NC in October (Wilkesboro) and I am so happy for her, me, our family! She's been gone too long.

I hope to stay up w/ the blog - thanks for including me - hope you had a great time w/ your mom - birthday and all!!!

Complications

2008-07-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

Complications by Atul Gawande is one of FOUR books I am reading right now but it is the one I am closest to finishing so I figured it was blogworthy, obviously it is driving me to read it the most. I would recommend this book to those interested in the healthcare profession. It might be a little TOO eye opening and maybe a little too blunt for laypeople...he writes about very serious illnesses and medical mistakes with a surgeon's detachment but admittedly he has good self-awareness about his detachment. He is an amazingly engaging writer, I had read several of his articles in The New Yorker while in nursing school including The Checklist. Click on the link to read the actual article, it is great.

The book is organized into chapters by subject matter. My favorite chapters thus far have been (in no order) Ch. 7. The pain perplex, Ch. 8. A queasy feeling, and Ch 3. "When Good Doctors Go Bad. I recommend Ch. 7 and 8 to anyone interested in chronic pain or nausea, it is very interesting. Last night I read Ch. 10 The man who couldn't stop eating, which is about bariatric (gastric bypass) surgery....what a crazy world we live in. That whole surgery phenomenon still completely blows my mind.

Anyway, good read if you are into that kind of thing. The other books I am reading are "All Families Are Psychotic" by Douglas Coupeland, "Next" by Micheal Crichton, and "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flag.

Keep posting everyone, we are gaining momentum!

Rae's Current Reading

2008-07-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

This book is a MUST read for all of us dog-lovers. Don't get me wrong, this is no "Marley & Me" feel good fluff. The story is complex and deeply moving, but it doesn't hit you over the head with tragedy. The relationship between dogs and humans is like the glue holding the story together, not the whole purpose of the book. Much like it should be in real life. This is just my opinion, informed by watching every episode of The Dog Whisperer, and not yet informed by my own attempt to raise and relate to a dog of my own.

The Short Story

2008-07-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

So, I made a happy trip to Village Books last week with happy thoughts of book club blogging in my happy head. After a short time browsing, I discovered a used Elizabeth Gilbert book. I really enjoyed Eat Love Pray, so I was hoping I didn't go wrong with Pilgrims, and you can never go wrong with a used book, right??
While it is an easy read, and I have enjoyed the first several stories I have read, I just have issues with short stories. I know, I know, they're supposed to be enjoyable, slice-of-life type things, but I get in to the characters and I want more more more! There's never a beginning middle or end, and I'm always left wanting MORE! Where did they ride off to on that horse? Did the truck ever get fixed? Are those two strange people actually brother and sister? Tell me MORE!

Socialite trash...but oh so delightful

2008-06-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished my long love affair with The Outlander series by Diane Gabaldon. I have been reading her series of books for over a year...it is six large books in total. The next book, An Echo in Bone isn't due out for a least another year I guess, so I decided to be daring and start on my much neglected trashy book list. Thank you to darling Liz for sending me a house warming gift of many such books :)

This morning, lying in bed with my beloved coffee and Fraggle, I began Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer. So far I have really enjoyed it...much like chocolate and coffee. Here is the teaser:

Elisabeth Page is a 30-year-old pastry chef at L.A.'s restaurant du jour whose perpetually knotted stomach has roots in any number of sources: her father, Ben, a two-time Pulitzer-winning novelist and the kind of cultural icon that doesn't exist anymore, with whom every conversation is a chess game; childhood sweetheart Will Houghton, whose globe-trotting as a journalist has stunted their ill-defined relationship; the head chef from hell at her all-consuming job; and her patrician family's way of bonding through blood sport. But relief begins to filter in as Elisabeth's dalliance with beer-drinking, salt-of-the-earth basketball coach Daniel Sullivan turns into a fulfilling relationship and her culinary career takes an unexpected turn. If it sounds chick litty, it is, but consider it haute chick lit; Palmer's prose is sharp, her characters are solid and her narrative is laced with moments of graceful sentiment.

Girls, we have definitely morphed into more of a discussion group about books in general instead of a discussion group about a specific agreed upon book. But I think that works too! Until everybody is done with school etc. and has time to dedicate to a specific book at a specific pace, lets just keep up the book related discussion and recommendations. Also, I understand we have two ladies that want to join our book discussion group:

1. My aunt Ann (Ruth's sister) in North Carolina - WELCOME! I cant wait to see your posts, let me know if you need any techno assistance in posting, as I recall though, you are quite computer savvy. (Sorry, I have no picture to post!)

2. My friend Liz in Bellingham, WA - WELCOME! You have been an avid blog commentor and now will have full blog posting capability. Let me know also if you need help, I am sure between you and James you will have it covered though :) Oh, and THANKS for my current book, it is just what the doctor ordered...or in your case, just what the physician assistant ordered, eh?

For the love of bears

2008-05-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

The Bear Went Over the Mountain
by William Kotzwinkle

Highly recommending this book to all readers. I read this while visiting ABQ this weekend. VERY quick read, you could probably read this book in about 4 or 5 hours total. Big print, short chapters. HUGELY entertaining silly book with some subtle lessons about life.

Excerpt from the book:

"The waiter laid a basket of bread and buns on the table, and a dish of butter patties. The waiter's clothing was saturated with the smells of the kitchen, and the bear fought down the urge to butter the waiter's arm and eat it. Moments like these are the hardest, he reflected to himself. He made himself reach politely for the bun, and buttered it slowly. His method was to completely cover the bun with butter patties, all of them.
Zhou Zhou watched, transfixed. She hadn't eaten butter in a decade."

Read this book. Thanks to Andrew for the recommendation and the loaner book.

HHGTTG as it is called by true fans

2008-04-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) for now the third time. It was a book to get me through a bookless gap. I really like this book, it is like cotton candy for the brain...oh so delicious science fiction junk food. My favorite character is Slartibartfast, he likes designing fjords on custom made planets...I think I would like that too :)

I have purchased The Omnivore's Dilemma and have had a really hard time getting it going mostly because it is not a sit in bed and read right before going to sleep kind of book which is when I get the majority of my non-academic reading done. I think this is a temporary problem for all of us right now. Not for long though!!!!

I think I need to get a bedtime reading book going, I will probably wait until this weekend when Rae is going to lend me A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Diana Gabaldon Outlander Series). I miss Jaime and Claire (characters in the series).

I am tempted to see if the local library has the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, I have never read it (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe).

Eat, Pray, Love - Fini!

2008-04-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well faithful reader(s), I completed Eat, Pray, Love - yes indeedie. There was a long hiatus with only a few pages left to go... but I am glad that I waited because I found the diamond in the sand:

My favorite line of the whole book: "I was the administrator of my own rescue."

I just love it. I say it over and over... in present tense... "I AM the administrator of my own rescue"... in future tense... "I will always be the administrator of my own rescue." Love it!

It really sums it all up for me... now... let's discuss (preferably over a glass of wine).

Book excitement

2008-04-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today in a Barnes and Noble impulse shopping trip I tried to buy the Totality of all being but they did not have it. They said it may have to be bought online because it is a small publisher. Damn.

So I instead, bought The Omnivore's Dilemma and then for a true American momment, I bought Obama's book: The Audacity of Hope, Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. I am excited to read both of them although neither are very fluffy.

My fluffy book will have to be put on hold until Rae loans me a Breath of Snow and Ashes in ABQ at the end of the month. In the interim for a bit of brain candy I am re-reading The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy which I just love. Sci-Fi trash. So fun.

Happy Reading Ladies :)

Rae's Book List

2008-04-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we've had a bit of trouble keeping our momentum going for bookclub! I am sure it is because we are all very busy people and it is hard to incorporate everything into our days!

That is not to say that I am not reading! Since my last post (ages ago), I have read The Pillars of the Earth, Next, and The Kite Runner. I LOVED Pillars and look forward to World Without End (when it comes out in paperback). I am still making my way through A Breath of Snow and Ashes (for the second time - it is my filler book).

Here is my current reading list - in no particular order - in case you're interested!

World Without End - Ken Follett
The Eagle and the Raven - Pauline Gedge
Meanwhile Don't Push and Squeeze - Robert Berold
The Totallity of All Being: Lucifer's Experiment - Jane Joyce
The Secret Magdalene - Ki Longfellow

Happy Reading!!!

Book Suggestion

2008-03-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Another book idea. The Omnivore's Dilemma. A classmate read this for class and talked about it during our discussion session yesterday and it sounds really interesting...it is akin to the popular book, "Fast Food Nation" but apparently offers solutions instead of just grossing you out with the facts of processed food. What do ya think?

Bali time!

2008-03-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

Bali reading is in a dip, ....a dip in interest, so I'm going to skip-along quickly and see what happens. I love the bedtime, bedside-light and tea-time to read this story. But my sleepy-head takes me to dreamtime, (--dreams which are so interesting, when I reflect on them the following morning; I digress). Stay tuned, I'm almost to the finish line!

Kate's Book Suggestion

2008-03-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Kate's Suggestion:
The Totallity of All Being: Lucifer's Experiment

One Amazon Reader gave this review:
A story of good and evil.

What makes it interesting is that no one, including the reader, is ever quite sure of who is on the side of light and who is on the side of darkness.

In the year 2017, Cameron Chase, claiming to be Lucifer incarnate in the form of a twelve year old girl, makes her presence known by healing the sick, levitating and creating force fields around herself and those she has chosen as allies. She takes control of every television set on earth and exposes the development of a nuclear bomb capable of creating water. She prematurely announces this in an effort to quickly convince the world governments that a higher race is trying to destroy humanity and the only hope of survival is to make the moon inhabitable.

This story is science fiction with a large dash of spirituality mixed within it. As a sci-fi story it is a good concept and an interesting story. The spirituality that is involved does make you stop and think but, at times, gets too deep and becomes confusing and difficult to understand. The basic message this reader walked away with is that the basis of spirituality is to ascend to the highest plain--piousness -through lessons learned from lives we choose, of our own free-will. Every individual contains good and evil and manifests that which they most believe.

Last chance

2008-03-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

Okay - I think we should stay goal oriented. New book starts April 1st.
Final postings regarding Eat. Pray. Love. are due!!

Also, shall we vote about what book is next or shall we take turns choosing?

This time will be much more of a discussion right?

All gone

2008-02-13T04:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I officially finished Eat, Pray, Love!! When do we get to have a really good discussion about it??????? I flipped back through the pages to review the parts I liked, it was such a fun journey. The introspective Texan in India was my favorite supporting actor type person. I would go on about Bali but Mom is not there yet, come on Mom!!!

I babysat these babies: the Carter boys!

2008-02-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Did you know that? I held and fed and rocked each one---ever so precious, oh-my-God! -- I helped their mommy, Lisa, for a month just before Thanksgiving time. Their daddy was my instructor for Readers Theatre class, 2 terms ago. I saw "the boys" about 2 weeks ago. They're now at the crawling stage--and each one has two-bottom-baby-teeth.

I'm in India now! I'm settled-out with my new routine, so I will progress more steadily. I havn't reached the "brothers" part yet. I can't wait to get to Bali. In MY life, Bali is in the top 3 places I am going to visit in the near future.

Four brothers

2008-01-31T18:02:00.001-08:00

I think one of the neatest things I have found in Bali, or rather the author found and I am adopting as an idea, is the belief in each person having four brothers.
This idea appeals to me for at least 3 reasons off the top of my head:
1. I always wanted a brother
2. Four brothers sounds like nearly excessive protection (in a good way)
3. They are not REAL brothers so they cant become annoying like I have heard brothers can be from those that really had brothers.

I tried to Google this belief system and didn't find much except that actually, a woman would have four sisters, its just men that have four brothers...but hell, I'm an American and we steal all sorts of ideas and make them our own with a few changes, why stop now right?

Have either of you gotten to that portion of the book? What did you think about that belief? Im not sure I would be into burying the afterbirth tissue by my front steps but again, we are American...maybe I could just put the baby's hospital bracelet in a potted plant by the front steps??

The Other Boleyn Girl

2008-01-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

Just an update on the status of my recreational reading since we've hit a bit of a pause button with the Eat, Pray, Love discussion. I am nearing the end of the Bali adventure and well... I got distracted by The Other Boleyn Girl. It is a real page turning treat! The movie is out in February and I really wanted to read the book first. Yummy escape from reality!

I am also making my way through A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Book 6 in the Outlander Series). This is my second time through the series... in preparation for the release of An Echo in the Bone, Book 7 which is supposed to be published sometime in 2009. I read on Diana Gabaldon's website that there is a motion picture (presumably of Outlander) under development.

Other news in entertainment: Saw Juno last weekend and loved it! Highly recommended! AND... LOST season premiere this Thursday!!

The answer to the obvious question (Do you have a life aside from reading, tv, movies?) is Absolutely Yes!! Since completing my internship interview adventure, my life is really jumpstarting - there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I am striving to enjoy every moment of the journey to the light!

Slow but steady wins the race!?

2008-01-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to finally be reading about the "Word" last night. So cool that Elizabeth picked up on the vibe of cities, down to one word. I agree with her. I've never been to Stockholm, but I don't think I will either. I am trailing in last place at chapter 34, but I have more time for pleasure reading now since I 'dropped' my Lit. class (I more-like dropped the teacher). I'll take Lit. this summer from a less-cryptic, teaching-style instructor. I havn't peeked ahead, but I am anxious to read her words describing India and Bali.

My word: Discover

2008-01-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

...to answer the question: what word matches every single part of me? The first word that bubbled up was 'transform'; however, the word seemed to lack luster--maybe from overuse--especially here in Asheville. Then the word 'self-discovery'. I have traveled far....out in the world and in to my dark interior....so, yes, 'Discover': never ending and exponentially ignited every day.

That Quiet Girl

2008-01-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

Perhaps my favorite part of the book so far is the section where Liz describes how she comes to accept her 'natural character.' (Ch. 62-64, pgs. 189-193)

The paragraph where she discusses her habit of interrupting people while they are talking (pg. 193) resonated so strongly with me (I know... this may be difficult to imagine - hint of sarcasm).

Even more so, her response to this realization... which was to take a vow of silence and become the "best" at being silent... is, well, a pattern with which I am all too familiar. (In psychodynamic speak - this is the defense known as 'reaction formation')

My fascination with psychology is in part due to a fascination with the power and quality of DEFENSES. How is it that people can go through life whining, complaining, abusing, withdrawing, etc... and never see that they are the source of their own misery? The answer is that humans are extremely well-defended.

My extraordinarily adaptive response to my own insecurities is to painstakingly examine, explain, and address any and all evidence of pathology or symptomology manifesting in my behavior, my relationships, my thoughts. (As an aside - you may have noted another hint of sarcasm here - which is ironically a manifestation of another psychological defense - passive-aggression. According to psychoanalytic theory, sarcasm is a passive-aggressive form of communication which protects the communicator from their own anger and the undesired consequences of expressing anger.)

Back to the topic of this post: Interrupting people because you think what you have to say is more important that what the other person is saying. Hence, you think you're more important than the other person.

True story: Two pipes involved in my daily activities sprung leaks this past week. The pipe involved in draining water in the bathroom sink and the pipe involved in expelling exhaust from my car.

A third pipe has sprung a leak - it has actually been leaking my whole life and I have only intermittently been aware of it. My constant stream of chatter is a drain to my energy and a burden to those around me. Talking is a tool for avoiding myself, my loneliness, my worries... My cell phone is a depository for my energy, my ceaseless, useless, stream of blah, blah, blah... My supervisor, on numerous occasions, has told me that I use too many words - the impact of my communication is lessened by so many words.

Pg. 190 "Learning how to discipline your speech is a way of preventing your energies from spilling out of you through the rupture of your mouth, exhausting you and filling the world with words, words, words instead of serenity, peace, and bliss."

I pray for help in learning this skill... perhaps I will take a vow of silence.

Rae's Word: Engage

2008-01-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

I must apologize for the delay in sharing my thoughts... a subsequent post will further explore the existential underpinnings of this delay and how it relates to Eat, Pray, Love. For now, it must suffice to say that life has been a busy and extremely enjoyable grand tour of internships! In fact, my word, which I reveal in the title of this post, did arise from my recent journey to the west coast.

To expand further: Following my adventure in Long Beach (another story entirely), I attended the Seattle VA (acronym = 'Veterans Affairs' Medical Center) for their psychology internship open house. There, the training director spoke at length about the philosophy of their training program, which is essentially that they support the development of excellence - not just competence - and they do this in several ways, the description of which I will not bore you at this time. The point is that there is distinction to be made between competence and excellence, and it is on this point that I digress.

The "space" between competence and excellence, I believe, is comprised of how and how much one engages and is engaging! (There's my word!!!) To be truly successful, I must whole-heartedly "engage" in my life and the pursuit of my goals.. I must SHOW UP - rain, sleet, snow, etc... My pursuit must not be a blind or desperate striving for external validation. Rather I strive to be worthy of excellence, which is where "being engaging" comes in. "Being engaging" to me means that I act with humility, empathy, and compassion, so that others have room to welcome me and support me along my journey. So that I do not, in my effort to achieve, compromise my integrity and humanity.

So, this is my word: Engage

______ + Engage + Achieve = _______

Post your updates!!

2008-01-15T10:37:00.000-08:00

We seem to be stalling out on our book club participation ladies.

What page of the book are you on? Did you drop the book in the dishwater and need to buy a new one? or Do you like the book but don't want to talk about it? Have you thought of your word? I know Rae mentioned she had come up with her word and would be posting about it soon. let me know when you would like me to change the title of our blog to include your word Rae!

Blog ladies. Blog.

ACHIEVE

2008-01-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

Kate's word: Achieve

I have been thinking about what my word might be for about a week. There were a few other words I played around with but I found that the other words were either:

What I wished my word was - Enjoy
What I think my word "should be" - Peace, Love, blah, blah, blah
What other people would say my word would be - Learn, Win, Go

I am very excited about owning this word, I really feel like its a good fit.

I was thinking our words could be the title of our blog (hence the current title, rae's word, ruth's word, Achieve). I am really looking forward to learning what you both (and our other blog reader's) submit as the word.

I want to learn Italian now!

2008-01-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, this is the first: #1 NY Times bestseller I've ever read!
So far, I like the story...I find that in-amongst the clever talkie talk, she reveals some deep stuff. Not just 'deep', but super-personal experiences that are explained without editing for descretion purposes. I loved the experience she described on pg. 54 when she 'sees a friend' in the mirror when she's getting on an elevator. I have had moments like that!
So far, my favorite paragraph was laugh-out-loud funny in chapter 16: 'Depression' with the billy-club and 'Lonliness', the sensitive cop interrogator; very insightful of her.
I continue to admire her awareness around changing what she does based on new reasons why. This follows Kate's observation of the author's presense. Yes, and staying true to her self-aware pitfalls and a new found: self-allowing. I could learn from her 'no rules' approach to eating. I loved the visual of her preparing her 'masterpiece lunch 'and then eating it-- sitting in a patch of sunbeam on her wooden floor, while reading the Italian newspaper.
I'm on pg. 74 now. (there was no reading at Patricia's....some guest rooms in this world don't come with bedside table and light.)

Lets talk about eating in Rome

2008-01-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

The idea of exploring a foreign city purely by seeking pleasure in food is one that I can fully embrace. I love the idea, it is truly decadent, to think about ignoring all the things you are "supposed to do and see" while visiting foreign places like museum visiting, tour of castleing, etc. and just wandering around people watching and EATING. Eating gelato for breakfast, traveling to another city just to eat their pizza in excess in a culture that finds nothing disgusting about pleasure seeking behavior, I could see how this would be restoring to both body and mind.

I think this endeavor would be more difficult than it sounds, I wondered as I read this book if I would be able to do this without feeling guilty for such excessive pleasure and along the same line of thinking, I also wondered if I would be able to "live in the present" for the entirety of this quest. Is the author's ability to live in the present for her Roman prandial adventures amazing to either of you?

Why Rae picked the book Eat, Pray, Love

2008-01-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

What draws me to the book is the idea of a QUEST... that life is a QUEST for... many things...

For me, I experience and recognize the importance of wondering - "Is this it?" I want to honor the restless discomfort (and sometimes sheer panic) that accompanies that wondering. I believe that I simply have to verbalize that I wonder this and at times I have to take action to explore, to go on a quest... sometimes independently and sometimes with other people. Therefore, the reason that I wanted to read this book myself and share it with my mom and sister is because I need to be inspired by other women who share my need to explore and who most reliably support me to quest and will even come with me if I ask.

Book #1

2007-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

Eat, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

Chosen by: Rae Littlewood

Rae, could you explain why you chose this book to provide a little background?