I have to admit that this is actually the second time I am reading this book, and I like it even more this time around. I had forgotten how humorous Liz can be, and I found the Introduction to really provide her sense of humor and sarcasm right away. For me, this sense of quirkiness and quick-wittedness are part of what makes this book so enjoyable. I love how she will refer back to things already mentioned - it makes me feel like I'm in on an inside joke or something.
I think her whole concept of seeking pleasure, seeking devotion and then seeking a balance of the two (p. 30) is a very interesting basis for her travels and this book. I found myself thinking about how often I seek balance without ever giving thought to what complete devotion to the individual components would look like. Do you think it is important to completely understand the components before coming to a point of balance? Can you come to a point of balance without having understood the individual components?
We see Liz dealing with the fallout of her divorce and break up with David in the first part of this book as well as her journey to find pleasure in Italy. On page 22, Liz says that "God never slams a door in your face without opening a box of Girl Scout cookies." I see Italy as being her "Girl Scout cookies" to the closed door of her divorce and break up. If you agree, in what ways do we see Italy as that new opportunity? Where else do we see Girl Scout cookies in Liz's journey so far? What effect do you think traveling had on these revelations for her?
In many ways, Liz's time in Italy can be seen as a time of self-discovery and self-reflection, along with her pursuit to find pleasure. One way she comes to this realization is while she's at the Augusteum, of which she says, "I look at the Augusteum, and I think that maybe my life is not so chaotic after all. It is merely this world that is chaotic, bringing changes to us all that nobody could have anticipated," (p. 75). I know in my own life, I have felt this way as well. We often jump to conclusions that we are somehow causing some things in our life to happen which bring chaos and craziness to our lives, when really, the actual circumstances are the sources of chaos. The only thing we have control over is how we cope and deal with these sources of chaos. Did this passage about the Augusteum resonate with anyone else?
We also see Liz's pleasure-seeking as a time of self-reflection when she is discussing Rome's "word" with Giulio (p. 104). He asks what her "word" is and she cannot pinpoint it. At the end of the chapter, Liz also realizes that she has been on a journey to re-discover herself, when she acknowledges she "needed to come to Italy to understand [her]self," (p. 115). While we may not all have the luxury of taking a hiatus from our lives for 4 months to understand ourselves, how do we come to these realizations? What does it take for us to take a step back to self-reflect and center ourselves? Personal tragedy? Amazing success? A really good meal?
I found this first book to be so personally written that I feel like I know Liz. I can see certain aspects of myself in what she says. I had some of those "I have been there" moments through these readings. What were your general thoughts about this book so far? How are you reacting to Liz's sometimes blunt honesty? How is this book what you expected and how is it surprising you so far?
I've really enjoyed the book! I think she ran away, literally, from her problems and that's not a bad thing. Oversees travel usually gives you a new perspective and going where no one knows her must have been, in a strange way, comforting. It must have felt like a fresh start and a chance to think about something else. We've all been "sick and tired of being sick and tired" and I this was a very smart way of her getting some personal renewal and getting paid to do it. Anyone want to pay me to travel for a year and then write about it? :-)
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