O.K. I was totally prepared to HATE this book. Everyone I know makes fun of it and/or was totally offended by the author's "white colonization" of the places she visited. But I have to say that I was completely charmed by Elizabeth Gilbert's writing style. Her voice is similar to my own and she thinks about a lot of the same things I do. She even approaches her chaotic, spiritual journey in a similar way to my own. I'm not embarrassed to say that I totally loved this book. Yes, she makes some pretty weird, racist choices on her path, but she was totally honest and clear about them. No one is perfect and in fact, its peoples' messiness that fascinates me the most - especially when they write about it in such an honest and accessible way. This was a real page-turner for me and I loved every minute of it. So there!