Women have always been thought of as “the weaker sex." Now the world is finally becoming aware that women are no longer weak and are also taking charge of their lives.

In the book and the movie “Eat, Pray, Love,” one woman takes an enormous risk by getting a divorce and traveling the world alone in search of herself. Traveling worldwide may seem extreme to some, but to really find herself this woman felt that she had to gain distance from all that was comfortable for her.

After a painful divorce, this woman was depressed, losing weight and confused. She leaves America and goes to Italy where she learns the language and the culture-including the food. While in Italy she realizes that being happy means not being a small clothes size but being happy with yourself no matter what size. In fact she gains twenty-three pounds and has never felt happier. She also gets rid of her depression without the use of medication.

In India, she begins to get in touch with her inner self through meditation. This starts off badly as her mind is a mass of endless cluttered thoughts. After hours of practice she finds that to know God you must look inside yourself and for real peace to happen in your life a person must think of themselves sometimes. To think of oneself is not a widely accepted behavior, but this movie/book shows that it is a necessary habit every woman should practice.

In Bali, the woman finds love truly for the first time. It happens unexpectedly, which is the best way to find love. She realizes that to find peace and happiness you must look at the world from the heart and not from thoughts. This is the only way to achieve balance between the world and God.

This book shows women that they cannot have an honest life without sacrificing something and that there is no easy way to decide what is to be sacrificed. However, the decision is the woman’s and no one else and she should decide what to let go to be happiest.

The book and movie allows women the privilege of transforming themselves. Most often it is thought that women are perfect for the task they are given (being and doing all that a woman does) and they should not want to change themselves.

Many times women worry over something thing that has happened and is now over. This book and movie states that this is one reason we miss all the beauty surrounding us. We should let go and live in the moment. We cannot redo what has already happened.

Eat, Pray, Love shows women that they have to work hard to create their own opportunities for peace and happiness and this may require stopping all else and listen to your heart. No one else can do this for you.