I see women who have this struggle between what they know is right, what they know is necessary, what they know is healthy, what they know is good for them, what they know is good for the work that they need to do, what they know is good for their bodies, what they know is good for their families - all too often ending that statement with the upturned question mark: "If it's okay with everyone?" Still asking, still requesting, still filing petitions for somebody to say that it's all right.
Elizabeth GilbertHere's the thing: the unit of reverence in Europe is the family, which is why a child born today of unmarried parents in Sweden has a better chance of growing up in a house with both of his parents than a child born to a married couple in America. Here we revere the couple, there they revere the family.
Elizabeth GilbertI don't think you can say that feminism has made women critical of marriage because women have been critical of marriage for centuries.
Elizabeth GilbertI am not an expert at praying, as you know. But can you please help me? I am in desperate need of help. I don't know what to do. I need an answer. Please tell me what to do.
Elizabeth GilbertWomen are capable of enduring a tremendous amount of disappointment and still have a good life.
Elizabeth GilbertI have had work or ideas come through me from a source that I honestly cannot identify. And what is that thing? And how are we to relate to it in a way that will not make us lose our minds, but, in fact, might actually keep us sane?
Elizabeth GilbertMy love affair with (him) had a wonderful element of romance to it, which I will always cherish. But it was not an infatuation, and hereโs how I can tell: because I did not demand that he become my Great Emancipator or my Source of All Life, nor did I immediately vanish into that manโs chest cavity like a twisted, unrecognizable, parasitical homonculus. During our long period of courtship, I remained intact within my own personality, and I allowed myself to meet (him) for who he was.
Elizabeth Gilbert