Day 28: Favorite writing/craft book

Some how the days I have missed are getting in the blog in the wrong order, so I am not sure where this one will end up but it is SUPPOSED to be day 28, which is your favorite writing/craft book. So this challenge is an interesting one for me. I am doing this challenge with my friend Karissa and she told me that she had 'tweaked' the original list of challenges just a bit to make it fit her better. This is the first day that tweaking has been problematic for me. She is a writer, I am not. I love writing, but just for myself. Karissa has a degree in poetry and has taken several classes and read several books about writing. She is also a published author! So...a little different than me! The obvious answer would be for me to discuss a craft book. Only I haven't ever read any. I probably should, I am sure I could benefit from reading about many of the things I enjoy doing like photography or jewelry making etc. I have never taken the time though, so that means for this challenge I had to tweak her tweak a little bit.

I decided to write about my favorite 'self help' book, which is an odd choice as I don't really read self-help books either. The book I chose though, was in a lot of ways that kind of book for me.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert



So they made a movie of this book and it was OK but not as good as the book. This book is one of those things that I never would have picked up for myself, but I was given as a gift. As soon as I finished reading it I began passing it around to all the girls in my social circle. I believe it had something different to say to each and every one of us.

As I said, I know this is not a traditional self-help book, but it is a book about a woman who embraced herself and her life and decided to get as much out of it as she possibly could. I don't have much in common with the author of this book. I have never been married, much less through a horrible divorce. I certainlyy have never had the opportunity to leave my life and spend a year traveling (although if anyone wants to fund a trip like that I would be happy to write the heck out my experiences). I am a much more traditional Christian than she is. Yet in so many ways this book was about me. It was about women in general.

This book was a reminder to me that God can be found in many places and many ways. It was a reminder to me that no matter how broken I feel, there is always tomorrow and that there are always so many more blessings in our lives than we are able to remember when sitting on the bathroom floor heartbroken.It reminded me that I am not the only person who has ever ended up at that place. It reminded me that life is full of opportunity and experiences and things to eat, to pray about, and to love (okay I know cheesy but also true)

I know this book wasn't a favorite with some conservative Christians, and I understand why. The author is very open in what she deems to be religion, and she has a definite bent towards the new age. If you can read it with an open mind, however, I think you would find that is one of the very things she is learning and embracing.