Anonymous wrote:I see nothing wrong with leaving her husband

What about the poor schmuck she left having to see his life he life chronicled to millions? Was that fair to him? Gilbert is all about me, me, me,me,me,me,.......

Anonymous wrote:The thing about the book is it’s a fake happy ending. Turns out she didn’t find true love or her true self. So now she’s trying out lesbianism. Discarding people all along the way. It’s not a path to fulfillment.

Long term Relationships are hard work. But usually worth it. Going on solo journeys and having casual encounters is a cop out.

ITA. My pet peeve in DCUM are the posters who say, "Life is too short to stay" when someone posts they're having doubts about their DH -- as if some fantasy life is out there waiting for them. It's not. Life is just a series of things you have to do, one day after the next, and marriage is the person you choose to spend time with while you get all that crap done. The end.

Anonymous wrote:Umm. For middle aged women it does (45+).

The actual concept is just a “mid-life crisis.”

It’s just that we used to focus only on men as having them and blowing up marriages.

Nowadays just as many women are doing it.

It is very relevant today.

Depends on your social circle. I don’t know a single woman in her late thirties through early fifties acting that way. We’re too busy being sandwiched, LOL, and many of us are still building careers after years of professional sacrifices to meet family needs.

As a single man, when I see the profiles of women who boast about travelling around the world for 6 months or a year, I am immediately uninterested. To men, we equate that with promiscuity. It may not apply to all of the women who do this, but it probably does to many. And if she needed to do that now as a way of finding herself, she'll want to do it again down the road when she gets bored. That taste of exotic, unrestrained freedom will never leave you.

The thing about the book is it’s a fake happy ending. Turns out she didn’t find true love or her true self. So now she’s trying out lesbianism. Discarding people all along the way. It’s not a path to fulfillment.

Long term Relationships are hard work. But usually worth it. Going on solo journeys and having casual encounters is a cop out.

Oprah is nothing like EG.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the E.P.L. behavior WAY more among men. I meet men all the time who left their families , but often it's for a "dream job", so it's more socially acceptable. Or for another (younger) woman, and the ex-wife is blamed for driving him to leave.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism. She didn't even have kids, right? So who cares?

She had the money to leave. Most people don't leave because they don't have the money.

She sounds smart. Dodged a bullet.

I see nothing wrong with leaving her husband

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the E.P.L. behavior WAY more among men. I meet men all the time who left their families , but often it's for a "dream job", so it's more socially acceptable. Or for another (younger) woman, and the ex-wife is blamed for driving him to leave.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism. She didn't even have kids, right? So who cares?

Yep, no kids. Leaving people you don’t want to be with is a kindness.

She left her DH because she was sick to her stomach at the thought of having kids with him. That's how the book starts. Not a big fan of the book but I think her strong emotional response was spot-on and more people should listen to that inner self before it makes them puke.

Sounds like she made the right choice. Big mistake to have kids with someone if your gut tells you not to.

Lots of people do. The fear of being alone, and of not being like others with what you're expected to have at a certain point, are very big drivers for most people.
The book presents someone who had the means, and the drive, and probably for many, most important-- the youth-- to get out of a situation she no longer felt she belonged in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the E.P.L. behavior WAY more among men. I meet men all the time who left their families , but often it's for a "dream job", so it's more socially acceptable. Or for another (younger) woman, and the ex-wife is blamed for driving him to leave.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism. She didn't even have kids, right? So who cares?

Yep, no kids. Leaving people you don’t want to be with is a kindness.

She left her DH because she was sick to her stomach at the thought of having kids with him. That's how the book starts. Not a big fan of the book but I think her strong emotional response was spot-on and more people should listen to that inner self before it makes them puke.

Sounds like she made the right choice. Big mistake to have kids with someone if your gut tells you not to.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism.

From whom?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the E.P.L. behavior WAY more among men. I meet men all the time who left their families , but often it's for a "dream job", so it's more socially acceptable. Or for another (younger) woman, and the ex-wife is blamed for driving him to leave.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism. She didn't even have kids, right? So who cares?

Yep, no kids. Leaving people you don’t want to be with is a kindness.

She left her DH because she was sick to her stomach at the thought of having kids with him. That's how the book starts. Not a big fan of the book but I think her strong emotional response was spot-on and more people should listen to that inner self before it makes them puke.

Instead of Eat, Pray, Love:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/arts/women-marriage-pop-culture.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Anonymous wrote:I see the E.P.L. behavior WAY more among men. I meet men all the time who left their families , but often it's for a "dream job", so it's more socially acceptable. Or for another (younger) woman, and the ex-wife is blamed for driving him to leave.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism. She didn't even have kids, right? So who cares?

She had the money to leave. Most people don't leave because they don't have the money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Just to be clear -- the book was published 14 years ago, about events that happened about 20 years ago. For context, not even half the households in the US had internet access until the year was more than halfway through. That was 5 years BEFORE Myspace became big.

The movie was 10 years ago.

You are rehashing old conversations and influences. It's not reflective of current conversations, nor does it drive them.

Seriously. Old news.

Eat Pray Love
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/541405.page

Elizabeth Gilbert [when she left 2nd husband for her best friend]
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/582467.page

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the E.P.L. behavior WAY more among men. I meet men all the time who left their families , but often it's for a "dream job", so it's more socially acceptable. Or for another (younger) woman, and the ex-wife is blamed for driving him to leave.

For some reason a woman leaving gets a lot more criticism. She didn't even have kids, right? So who cares?

Yep, no kids. Leaving people you don’t want to be with is a kindness.

She left her DH because she was sick to her stomach at the thought of having kids with him. That's how the book starts. Not a big fan of the book but I think her strong emotional response was spot-on and more people should listen to that inner self before it makes them puke.