News & Blog

Such a beautiful HAPPINESS JAR, and a tribute to Rosa's mother!

Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Dear Liz, here is a happiness jar from Spain.
I made it to remember all of the good times with my mother. She has alzheimer and sometimes I think that there hasn't been anything good in my everyday life. Then, after rethinking it I'm able to come up with a small but nice memory. I write it down and put it inside this jar. Then, I'll be able to remember those good times.
Thank you for this wonderful idea.

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!

Good morning, dear ones! Thank you so much for the sweet messages so many of you have been sending me — you are very, very lovely.

It's a beautiful day. I am 44 years old today, and grateful to be here. A nice symmetrical number. Because I like things to have significance, I just Googled "Number 44, significance" and the first thing that came up was this VERY helpful Wikipedia entry which alerted me to this little known numerical fact:

"44 is a natural number following 43 and preceding 45."

I honestly don't know what people did before the Internet, to discover meaning in their lives…

Anyway, I'm gonna have fun today, and that fun will involve eating. Eating and eating and eating and eating!

Speaking of eating, here's a particularly chubby baby picture of me, looking staggered and astonished to have arrived on this planet. Still haven't gotten over that sensation. It's a pretty amazing place, Earth.

Love to you all and thank you for your sweetness!
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

I FORGOT!

Whoops. I promised that I would post this video about "The Signature of All Things" every Monday morning until the book comes out on October 1, but Monday has come and gone, and I forgot.

Thus, in lieu of Monday Morning Movies, I offer you…Wednesday Afternoon Movies!

Please enjoy this short video about my new novel! It was filmed in Philadelphia, on the grounds of the 18th century mansion that inspired my heroine's fictitious home. I think you will like…

https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/video/

And if you want to pre-order the novel (in hardcover or e-book form, domestically or abroad) you may do so right here:

https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/the-signature-of-all-things/

HAPPY DAY,
Liz

Video | Elizabeth Gilbert – The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com
www.elizabethgilbert.com
"The Signature of All Things" promo trailer Elizabeth talks about THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS Elizabeth Gilbert: A new way to think about creativity TEDTal

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

Question of the day: DOES RUNNING AWAY WORK?

So I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other day (WTF, with Marc Maron) and he was interviewing one of my favorite authors (David Sedaris) and at one point, David said this about why he has traveled so much in his life: "Running away works."

I almost drove off the road, I was so happy to hear someone say it.

You've read my books. You must know by now how I feel about the powers of — at times — running away. I know, I know. Running away gets a bad rap. You get called a coward if you do it. And honestly, I guess sometimes you are a coward if you do it. Because it doesn't aways work, and here are two very sane adages to warn you against it, when you have serious problems to work out:

1) Wherever you go, there you are.

2) You can change seats on the Titanic, but the ship's still going down.

So certainly there are times when you have to hold your ground and face whatever it is you are going through, because if you keep dodging it, you will never be free of it.

BUT…there are other times when, honestly, I think the very best thing you can do for yourself is to run like hell — as far away as you can possibly go. Because there are circumstances in which a change of scenery CAN change your mind. Putting an ocean between you and somebody you really need to stay away from CAN help you to move on healthily. Taking a running leap CAN, at times, give you a better chance of learning to fly.

I've been thinking about this all week, and then, in this month's O magazine, I came upon this gorgeous quote, by another of my favorite authors, Rebecca Solnit:

"The bigness of the world is redemption. Despair compresses you into a small space, and a depression is literally a hollow in the ground. To dig deeper into the self, to go underground, is sometimes necessary., but so is the other route of getting out of yourself, into the larger world, into the openness in which you need not clutch your story and your troubles so tightly to your chest."
– Rebecca Solnit, from THE FARAWAY NEARBY

So what do you guys think? Share your thoughts on the virtues and vices of running away. How do those words "running away" even make you feel? Liberated? Tempted? Terrified? Angry? Appalled?

To me, I can't help it, those words carry a dangerously heavenly thrill…and always have. Some of the most glorious views I've ever seen were in a rearview mirror.

What do you think?

Big love,
Liz

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall

Wendy's beautiful new HAPPINESS JAR!

Photos of Elizabeth Gilbert
Happiness jar I made this weekend, inspired by the many I've seen posted on your timeline 🙂

via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook Wall