Mema's Mantra

I just finished reading the book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! I loved every word she wrote.

I really think that if my Mema knew what a mantra was and if she wanted one it would have been Eat Pray Love. I think that is probably the mantra for all good, church-going southern women. I really think that my Mema would have looked at Liz Gilbert and said, "Well, honey, you didn't have to go around the world for that. I could have told you that."

I know that my Mema would have believed that there was no problem that couldn't be solved with a hot plate of food, a prayer and some good quality family time. I just can't help but think about my Mema and her simple, southern wisdom while I was reading this book. For example, one time I found out my cousin was pregnant. I was asking my mom how my cousin got pregnant (meaning, did she forget to take her pill, did a condom break, etc.). My Mema was sitting next to me in the car, quietly listening to the whole conversation and as I await my mom's answer, Mema answers instead, "Is there a new way? I only know of one way." Ah, yes! Thank you, Mema!

Liz Gilbert didn't have my precious Mema. She had a crazy life that was so full of emotion and I think Liz had to take a tour around the world to find her inner peace, an inner peace that my husband says he found while sitting on the front porch with my Mema shelling peas, watching golfers and discussing what a wonderful day it is. We didn't need a Balinese medicine man or an Indian Guru. We had Mema!

As Liz took her tour around the world, experiencing new people, places and cultures I was enthralled! I loved reading her adventures. I wanted to wallow in her experiences. I took my time reading this book (one week and two days) because I really wanted to absorb her experiences. She is such an amazing writer. I honestly felt like I was reading an e-mail from a friend instead of reading the memoir of a stranger. This is the first book I have ever read that I wanted to highlight, write in the margins and tab great passages. Please do yourself a favor and go read this book today. I do think that it might fall into the category of "chick lit" but she is funny and personable enough that I think men can relate and I also think that she experienced so many different challenges in her life that men and women can relate to her.

Please do yourself a favor and read this book! Two thumbs up! Great fun!

And I shall leave you with three of my favorite quotes from the book:

"God never slams a door in your face without opening a box of Girl Scout cookies..."

"Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."

"Tis' better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's life perfectly."

Thank you Liz Gilbert for taking me on amazing adventures, teaching me wonderful life lessons, and for having the gift to put it all into a book. Thank you!