This is one of the most inspirational books I have read in a long time. I have enjoyed reading Elizabeth Gilbert on a few occasions, but this nonfiction book about « Creative Living Beyond Fear » is my favourite.
I was like many others, being introduced to the author with her autobiographical hit « Eat, Pray, Love », which was a travelogue as much as a good story made into a great movie.
After that, I read another autobiographical nonfiction called Committed, which explained her complicated international monogamous status, and gave an even more intimate look at her personal life.
Next, I read her fiction « The Signature of All Things » , which was a opus that was both beautiful in its details and a little strange (some might find it sacrilegious or too sexual).
« The City of Lost Girls » was a disappointment to me, in the vein of fictitious hyperbole that I disliked in « The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugh ». Set in New York, I found her characters unemotional and vapid.
16 years ago, Ms. Gilbert gave a TED talk about creativity that I found inspiring. Now, reading her treatise on creativity, I am even more inspired!
Very early on, her stories allow the skeptic in me to embrace her hypothesis. Creative living is a choice, and its « Big Magic » is waiting for an open channel to use to allow genius to occur. It’s compelling to embrace her line of thinking, and suspend disbelief in the logic that can prevent my imagination from growing and inventing new ideas.
The table of contents flows well, starting with courage, moving on to enchantment, commenting on permission, recommending persistence, developing trust, and ending with divinity.
Highlights include:
« Done is better than good. » p.176
