Goodbye Italy, Hello India Post A

Definitions from www.dictionary.com

Fennel (Gilbert, 108): a plant, of the parsley family

Intrinsic (Gilbert, 121): belonging to a thing by its very nature

Emotional Appeals:

"But Syrause, the next day, is even better. The bus coughs me up on the street coner here in the cold rain, late in the day." (Gilbert, 112) This is in the very beginning of her trip to India. I, as the reader, feel like I am right there with her. Even though Liz doesn't use very descriptive language, I can still vividly picture it in my mind.

"It was in a bathtub back in New York, reading Italian words aloud from a dictionary, that I first started mending my soul. My life had gone to bits and I was so unrecognizable to myself that I probably couldn't have picked me out of a police lineup. But I felt a flimmer of happiness when I started studyng Italian, and wen you sense a faint potentiality for happiness after sch dark times you must grab onto the ankles of that happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt--this is not selfishnes, but obligation. You were gven life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find someting beautiful within life, no matter how slight." (Gilbert, 115) I felt like I could relate very well with Liz when she said that beacause her life had gone to bits that she was unrecognizeable to herself. I know how that feels, so I could be empathetic with her. I understand that healing takes a long time, and when you find a the slightest ray of happiness, you have to embrace it to pull yourself out or you just get (and remain) more stuck.

"...thought is that you are never where you are. You are always digging in the past or poking at the future, but rarey do you rest in this moment." (Gilbert, 132) This quote represents me perfectly. I spend a lot fo time dwelling on the past, like broken friendships, lost pets, etc. and poking at my future , like worrying about my SAT and ACT scores, or how well I will do on my AP tests in May, or if I can find a college I will be happy with...but rarely do I think about right noww. What do I have to do right now to help align my future. That is what I feel so much of life is about. Dwelling on the past, wishing you could fix it, and laying the stones just right to have a perfect undisturbed path to the ideal future.

Now I am STILL thinking that the theme of this memoir is how to rediscover yorself and just make sure that your emotional and spiritual ducks are in a row to make sure that you are a spiritual and physical and emotional whole.

(I think I have this book nailed ;] )

-C