Angie Windheim

The Lit Ladies met this week to discuss the New York Times Bestseller Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Unfortunately, it’s hard to discuss a book that more than half the group couldn’t even finish. That is rare for our group and I dare to say it is due to one or all three of the following:

1. Boredom with the story
2. Distaste for the main character
3. A lack of desire to find out what happens to this lady

Basically, not one of us could relate to Gilbert. We didn’t really like her or care much about her self-indulgent memoir.  This woman is desperately trying to make you like her, and that’s such a turn off.  A few threw the book a bone and mentioned that they liked her writing “style.”  It’s kind of like labeling a food nutritious. No one said it tasted good.

With that said, I can somewhat proudly say that I was one of the few that finished the book. I found some nuggets of goodness. Though I never bought into her spiritual growth in the memoir, I did enjoy some of the history and details of the people she meets and the places she roams.  Post divorce, Gilbert seeks to “find herself” by spending 4 months in Italy, 4 months in India and 4 months in Indonesia (Bali specifically).  She manages to find some very good teachers of life in all three countries. People with very thoughtful perspectives on what I would call universal acceptance. That acceptance includes ourselves, our friends, our family, our enemies and all of their strengths and weaknesses.

Gilbert seems to absorb some of her own message, but I do feel that even at the end, she is motivated by the need for everyone to like her. She even picks a man based on the fact that he worships her. She doesn’t have any strength in her convictions. She never argues, never stands up for anything. She bullies herself into meditation so that she can be less of a downer and more people will be drawn to her. She brags many times about her gift for making “friends.”  I’m thinking that if she had fewer, better, deeper friendships, she may have not gotten so lost in the first place.

I can’t recommend the book. I managed to get something out of it, but I think when only 3 out of 12 women can even finish it, there’s a big problem.

The annual food drives are a significant part of my family’s charitable contributions. Much to my dismay, the kids new elementary school is not collecting this year. This kicked my 5th grader’s teacher and myself in gear to coordinate our own classroom food drive. The kids are very excited. So, my job is to figure out who to donate the food, too. My first stop was the Sherwood Helping Hands. Well, it turns out that they are well-stocked.  This was a bit shocking to me.  Evidently, what they really need is a food drive in the spring. That’s when donations start running low.  We’re looking into a school-wide effort for that, too 🙂  But, for now, we need a home for our donations and it looks like it will be the Newberg F.I.S.H (Friends in Service of Humanity)  The food pantry provides for 363 families (over 1,300 people) in the Newberg area.  F.I.S.H. prides itself on providing the necessary basic food items to last a family for 8 to 10 days.  Each family can make one trip per month. It’s nice that they base the quantity of food on the number of mouths to feed in the household. Some groups do not adjust the amount of food to the size of the family.   F.I.S.H. is very enthusiastic about our donation and even offered to give the kids a tour of the food bank…that could be a very cool teaching opportunity.

My reward for the weekly trip to Winco has always been a trip to Taco Bell. I get the Steak Fiesta Burrito which is a reasonable amount of calories and I’m generally satisfied.  Today, I decided to go for a couple of the modest bean burritos (two is a little much, but I earned it pushing that cart :-).  Ah, but then I see they have a rice and bean burrito and decide to try that. Well, that was one of the best Taco Bell creations I’ve tried. So yummy. Unfortunately, it was so tasty because it’s smothered in Nacho cheese sauce! Diet disaster bells went off and so I left the second burrito in the bag.  Thank goodness, too. I checked the calories when I got home and it weighed in at 500.  If I’d been a little hungrier and dove into the second burrito, I’d have scarfed down 1000 calories. When dieting, I find it pays to stick to what you know. Decide ahead of time what you want to get and go online to check the calories.