Elizabeth Gilbert

Have a Question For Elizabeth Gilbert?

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Elizabeth Gilbert will be speaking in conversation with Caroline Baum at the Sydney Opera House this Saturday, 19th January about life after her best-selling memoir Eat Pray Love, how she’s  dealt with the success and offer tips on how to be creative without becoming an “alcoholic manic depressive.” (You can still get yourself a ticket here, if you fancy it.)

If you’ve ever wondered about Elizabeth’s thoughts on marriage, how she stays creative or what she thinks about the scores of women who’ve inundated Bali emulating her journey of self-discovery, now is the time to ask her.

If you have a question, please post it in the comments section below by Friday January 18th.

Be sure to check out our upcoming talk with Martin Seligman on positive psychology for even more self-improvement inspiration.

COMMENTS
34

  1. dimi on said:

    Hi Elizabeth

    Welcome to Sydney. (We met in Canberra).

    Question: Are you now in a happy place ?

    Reply ↓
    • Ruth Jones on said:

      No, but I am seeking a happy place. Elizabeth will you help me relocate to Los Angeles, CA?
      I want so much to be a writer and have always dreamed of living there. In 1979 at 27, I felt happy for the first time in my life being in LA, due to chronic pain I have been unable to earn the money to go back. I met the man of my dreams there but he became ill and passed away. Elizabeth I’d love to go on another sabbathical and write. Please help me ful fill my quest for a better life, I want to prove to my daughter that dreams do come true. I will work hard to accomplish my goals once out there. A

      Reply ↓
  2. Sarah on said:

    Hi Liz,

    Do you find it challenging to talk openly about spirituality for fear of damaging your reputation with a highly-rational and highly skeptical audience? You seem to be able to so beautifully discuss ‘out-there’ ideas and be taken seriously (e.g. your TED talk on creativity) – which I think is especially powerful because you’re speaking to a broad and diverse audience, not just preaching to the choir. Do you have any advice for those of us with a strong interest in spirituality and personal growth who don’t want to be relegated to the fringes?

    Reply ↓
  3. Jenna Harfield on said:

    A question about your writing process (as a wannabe writer) :
    “How do you put pen to paper and actually start putting thoughts down. When you are writing about such personal subject matter, how do you decide where to begin the story…?”

    “When you were at you lowest ebb in what was unfolding in your personal life, how did you motivate yourself to carry on writing about your journey?”

    “Out of all of the inspiring individuals you met along the way, who had the most profound effect on you and why?”

    “How involved were you in the making of the film and do you feel it was a good reflection of what you went through?”

    Reply ↓

  4. Eat Pray Love is one of a very few books I’ve read several times. Which books do you return to and why?

    Reply ↓
  5. Juliet on said:

    Hi Elizabeth,

    When you wrote your book, were you writing it for an audience, or simply because you felt moved to write it? Why do you think it has become such an international success? What were the factors that contributed to its success and the ways in which people found out about it (ie what were the main means of marketing it)?

    Many thanks… and i absolutely loved your book… Huge congrats for bearing your soul :).

    Juliet xox

    Reply ↓
  6. Sharon Luttrell on said:

    What is your creative process and how has it changed over the years? How did you find what works for you?

    Sharon

    Reply ↓
  7. Melissa on said:

    Hi Liz
    I am about the same age as you and as a child with divorced parents took marriage quite seriously when choosing someone I thought would be “forever” – 5 years later I was divorced (luckily for me very amicably) but it made me wonder about the validity of “marriage” in our times. I have a wonderful older man in my life now but have no intention of getting married again – not for fear of loss but I almost feel that not getting married and staying together is more of a commitment than getting married. Do you think that marriage still has a place in our society? I see so many young people married and divorced within only a couple of years and other young people (my partners children) are now over 30 and not even close to finding a life partner or marriage?

    Reply ↓
  8. Caroline on said:

    How did you overcome any mental obstacles/hurdles? For example: was there a time when you thought that you could not be successful in writing this book? If so, how did you overcome it/them?

    Reply ↓

  9. Hi Elizabeth,

    As a guy I found your book ‘Eat Pray Love’ truly inspirational – I was already on the road of ‘escape from normality’ myself in India, next stop Bali when I first read your book.

    My question to you: With the success of ‘Eat Pray Love’, how do you cope with the roles of thought leader, life-change motivator and inspirer that have evolved for you since publication? Do you have the unfulfilled desire to write another book entitled ‘Pizza – Couch Surf – Snore’?

    Thanks,
    Josh

    Reply ↓
    • Julie on said:

      I’d read that!

      Reply ↓
  10. Sheree Strange on said:

    Ms Gilbert,

    If you had the opportunity, what would you tell your 21-year-old self?

    Reply ↓
  11. Amy Anka on said:

    Hi Elizabeth,
    How did you build up the courage to finally walk away from your husband at the time? Do you have any regrets about it? Were you worried about the pain it would cause him? Is there anything you would change about the situation? Did you feel as though you owed it to him to stick through the marriage even though in your heart you knew you couldn’t possibly stay? Was it hard knowing that he loved you still yet you had already checked out emotionally? What advice would you give to women in a similar situation to the one you found yourself in at the age of 33?

    Reply ↓
  12. Rowan on said:

    Liz, I am SO EXCITED to be coming along on Saturday. I can’t even put an exclamation mark there because it cheapens my excitement.

    My question is about voice in writing, an element of your work that has always delighted me as a reader, and something I am struggling with at the moment in my own writing.

    I gather through interviews I’ve read as well as the introduction to Committed that the problem with your first draft of that book actually was one of voice, or tone — in terms of the implicit relationship with an expectant (rabid) audience. I know it’s not a straightforward question, but I’m wondering how you eventually recognised your “authentic” written voice for Committed when it came along. I love and have adopted your strategy of writing with specific readers in mind, but is there also a groove, a sweet spot, for you when you hit the right voice? Do you know it when you hear it?!

    If this is a question you’d be interested in responding to, I’d particularly love to hear how this process differs for you between fiction and memoir.

    Thank you for your work, for all the wonderful gifts you’ve given we faceless multitudes over the years! You are a generous and sparkling soul and I can’t wait to share “a little corner” with you for a couple of hours this weekend. Much love. Rowan

    Reply ↓
  13. Maria on said:

    Hi Liz,
    Welcome to Sydney! Thank you for writing such a wonderful inspirational book which I return to again and again during the moments in my life when I need courage! My question to you is: how did you find the courage to walk such an unconventional path and to leave everything which was safe and familiar to you? Also, how do you sustain your practice in daily life?
    Thank you!

    Reply ↓
  14. Sam Buckerfield on said:

    Hi Elizabeth,

    How do you discern out of your creative musings and imagination what will work best in your books? Do you have a rating system for your ideas?!

    Thank you,
    Sam

    Reply ↓
  15. Rebecca on said:

    Hi Elizabeth, having seen your TED talks and other interviews, it seems that you are willing to embrace vulnerability and go to places as you write that are deep, intense and very personal. How do you move in and out of that space as you write? Is it something you are able to tune in and out of as you need to or do you allow yourself to stay in that place until you’re ready to move on?

    Reply ↓
  16. Lyn Connors on said:

    Hi Liz
    Through your diverse journey so far – what are some of the great lessons you have learnt?
    What do you know for sure?

    Reply ↓
  17. Mary on said:

    Hi
    Any thoughts on self talk or action when you know something is nagging at you to change, eg career, but you feel like you have no alternatives?

    Reply ↓

  18. Hi Elizabeth, such a pleasure to be in the audience. Talking about Eat, Pray Love specifically, how did you manage once your vulnerabilities appeared in the printed form? You bravely put a lot of yourself out there and I was interested in understanding what the reaction was from people close to you. If you have time, would also be interested in knowing what the reaction was from people you wrote about as well. Many thanks.

    Reply ↓
    • Helen on said:

      Great question Kate. I would also like to know more about this.

      As i get older I am realising the importance and freedom of being honest in everything. i’m not talking about surprising people with brutal honesty, but just about meaning what i say and not being afraid to praise or give love back. it’s powerful stuff, and i guess its a new thing because I’ve been afraid of exposing myself.

      I would like to know how you hold onto yourself when you’ve given so much of it out into the world?

      Reply ↓
  19. Rowan on said:

    Liz, I am SO EXCITED to be coming along on Saturday. I can’t even put an exclamation mark there because it cheapens my excitement.

    My question is about voice in writing, an element of your work that has always delighted me as a reader, and something I am struggling with at the moment in my own writing.

    I gather through interviews I’ve read as well as the introduction to Committed that the problem with your first draft of that book actually was one of voice, or tone — in terms of the implicit relationship with an expectant (rabid) audience. I know it’s not a straightforward question, but I’m wondering how you eventually recognised your “authentic” written voice for Committed when it came along. I love and have adopted your strategy of writing with specific readers in mind, but is there a groove, a sweet spot, for you when you hit the right voice? Do you know it when you hear it?!

    If this is a question you’d be interested in responding to, I’d particularly love to hear how this process differs between fiction and memoir.

    Thank you for your work, for all the wonderful gifts you’ve given we faceless multitudes over the years! You are a generous and sparkling soul and I can’t wait to share “a little corner” with you for a couple of hours this weekend. Much love. Rowan

    Reply ↓
  20. Michelle Parsons on said:

    Hi Elizabeth,
    So excited to attend your talk; another life dream to tick off the bucket list! Enjoy Australia.
    Did you always want to be a writer and if not, what other career path would you have followed and why?
    When coming up with a concept for a book, do you have the whole thing mapped out in your mind first or does the story just evolve and do you sometimes write the ending before the beginning?

    Reply ↓
  21. Helen on said:

    What do you seek spiritually these days? Have you ever been able to return to that place of enlightenment. In the palm of gods hand? Can you still draw strength from the original time or does it fade with time?

    Can we ever be truly satisfied? Would we want to be anyway?

    Do you ever feel lonely?

    How to do you hold onto calm and still feel challenged and fulfilled?

    Reply ↓
  22. Julie on said:

    Do you think we are destined to always feel like we want or need more? and, if so, how do we stay happy in the present?

    Oh and most importantly – did you get to kiss Javier?

    Reply ↓
  23. Lisa Handley on said:

    Q. If there was a ‘message’ that you hoped to impart to your readers in Eat, Pray, Love, what would that have been?

    If you didn’t write the book with the intention of sending a message, in hindsight, what would you hope people to have gotten?

    Thanks

    Reply ↓
  24. Lisa on said:

    What message did you hope to impart to readers of Eat, Pray, Love?

    If you didnt write the book intending a ‘message’, in hindsight what’s the key thing would you hope people to have gotten out of it?

    Reply ↓
  25. Annie Schlebaum on said:

    Hi Elizabeth,

    I loved your book,and delighted in the warm love and appreciation you have for so much and so many-but I have never understood why you went through such an extreme emotional crisis when YOU decided to leave your husband.I’ ve worked with many women who went through so much worse marital agony-violence,torture,chronic inescapable cruelty;alcoholism,drugs,child sexual abuse;in a context of extreme financial poverty and utter powerlessness…why was it so monstrously horrendous for you?

    Reply ↓
  26. Kate on said:

    Hi Elizabeth
    I know you made some crucial decisions in your early thirties. It feels like a pivotal time where the decisions you make will influence how you spend the rest of your life. I find myslef frozen, not knowing which is the right move to make.. I want it all.. to continue to develop my corporate career, to travel and experience the world, I have a loving partner who I would like to marry someday and think I would like children some day too. It feels like there will need to be a compromise somewhere. I am wondering is it possible to have it all and would that really make me happy. What is your advice to navigating your way through it?
    Looking forward to hearing your thoughts tomorrow!

    Reply ↓
  27. Ibyang on said:

    Hi Liz!
    To watch you three days before my birthday is one of the best bday gifts I will ever receive! Thank you for coming to Sydney. :)

    I’m a blogger who writes about lifestyle and food. Having read about Eat Pray Love has taught me to enjoy food more not just on a physical level. My question is a simple one:

    What food gives you so much pleasure and why?

    Thank you and I hope you have a lovely stay down under.

    Reply ↓

  28. Hi Elizabeth,

    I want to thank you for two reasons.

    Firstly, you reignited me in a desire to read again. Finally an author that is not boring! Your subject matter is of great interest and your writing style is engaging.

    Secondly, thank you for showing me that it is OK to be me when writing. I have toyed with wanting to write for a long time but did not think my style of writing would be of interest of people, but you proved that I was wrong. You have given me the courage to write my first book. Thank you.

    My question is, when you write, how much of it is just straight from your heart and the words flow and on the other hand, how much are you deliberately applying defined writing techniques?

    Thank you

    Anita

    Reply ↓
  29. Perihan Bozkurt on said:

    Question for Elizabeth Gilbert:
    Was meditation a real challenge for you and how did it change you? What insights did you gain?
    It seems that so many marriages do not last- Do you think that the traditional marriage set up really works wel in our modern society?

    Reply ↓
  30. Amanda on said:

    Dear Elizabeth,
    Can you please tell us about your next book? I’d love to hear what is coming next, fiction or memoir?

    Reply ↓
  31. Agnes on said:

    Hi Liz,

    Really thrilled to be able to attend your talk tomorrow. Hope you are enjoying Sydney.
    Did you find that India was the toughest place you’ve been to but also the most rewarding (if not, which country)? In general, do you feel we need to get through hard times to challenge ourselves and be more creative?
    Many thanks,
    Agnes

    Reply ↓

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