House of Prayer No. 2

Mark Richard gives us a thoughtful and provoking gaze into his spiritual awakening in his memoir, House of Prayer No. 2.

Born with a physical ailment in his hips, Richard is operated on and bedridden frequently during childhood, only to be told that he will be wheelchair-bound by the age of 30. Written in second person, you immediately feel as withdrawn and disconnected with the people around him as Richard does growing as a "special" child in the South.

In the book, Richard takes us along on his life journey while he experiences the horrors of the Children's Hospital he is operated in and dabbles in a multitude of occupations on his way to becoming a writer and, lastly, finding God. We are with him as he searches for meaning in his life as a deckhand, photographer and journalist (along with a slew of other jobs). We travel with him as he stands up to his abusive father in protection of his mother and sister. And we celebrate with him as he achieves his dream of becoming a writer, builds a life with his wife and sons, and achieves some spiritual clarity, realizing his call in life.

Oddly enough, the second person writing that makes us feel so disconnected in the beginning of the book ends up making us feel the complete opposite by the end of the book. As Richard finds more clarity and meaning in his life, it seems we, as the readers, develop a closeness with the meaningful people and events in his life. Richard's writing is warm in some places and witty in others, making the overall experience of reading his life an enjoyable one.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

With the recent release of the movie "Eat, Pray, Love," based on the book of the same name, I felt the need to revisit the 2006 bestseller by Elizabeth Gilbert to see if I had a different opinion a second time around. Sadly, I did not. If anything I found the book more irritating this time around.

I really love the idea of this book - solitary woman picks herself up after a difficult divorce, travels the world over to find herself, and, whoops, falls in love along the way - what's not to like? Well, for one thing, I was hoping for more of a travelogue - how the places and people she visits transform her life and vice versa. Instead it was more of, "look at me in Italy, in India, in Bali." The author seems unable, or unwilling, to look outside of her own narrow view of things long enough to grasp that there are people around her with far greater problems than hers.

Gilbert's journey also lacks credibility, as she is paid a healthy advance to write the story of her travels before she even embarks. Maybe I am a little jealous, but the fact that she's getting paid for all of this self-discovery prior to it even happening sort of sullies the integrity of her story.

I mostly dislike the book because it seems like such a wasted opportunity - Gilbert had a chance to be a heroine and an inspiration to not only women everywhere but anyone who has hit a point in their life where they do not know what direction to go. Rather than using this time to grow as a person and enrich her life and the lives of those around her, she instead chooses to focus more and more on herself and how those around her might assist her in achieving even greater levels of self-involvement.

Overall, despite my negative experience with this particular book, I would still recommend people give it a try - readers I have spoken with have either loved it or hated it, you might be the one who loves it.