Elizabeth Gilbert - Writer, Memoirist

Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) a native of Waterbury, Connecticut, is an American memoirist and writer.

Her first book Pilgrims, a collection of short stories published in 1993 under the headline, "The Debut of an American Writer". She became well known for her book memoir Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia published in 2006 and currently in #2 in New York Times Best Seller Paperback Nonfiction List after 88 weeks . The book is said to be made into film by Columbia Pictures starring Julia Roberts as the lead role.

In addition to her memoir books, she also work as a journalist for a variety of national magazines including SPIN, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Allure, Real Simple, and Travel Leisure.

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.”

Elizabeth Gilbert attended New York University and graduated in 1991 with a BA in Political Science, after which she lived the life of a literary vagabond - experiencing life as a cook, a waitress, and a magazine lackey - in order to write about it. Her experiences as a cook on a dude ranch found their way into both short stories and her book The Last American Man (Viking 2002).

Her father was a chemical engineer, her mother a nurse. Along with her only sister, novelist and historian Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Gilbert grew up on a small family Christmas tree farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. The family lived in the country with no neighbors, and they didn't own a TV or even a record player. Consequently, they all read a great deal, and Gilbert and her sister entertained themselves by writing little books and plays. (read more)

Author Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

Elizabeth Gilbert talks about her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence experiences. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.

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