In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want - husband, country home, successful career - but instead of feeling happy & fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic & confusion. This wise & rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, & of what she found in their place. Following a divorice & a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasures in Italy, devotion in India, & on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment & divine transcendence.