Eat, Pray, Run?

Eat, Pray, Love. You have probably seen these three words pasted on TV screens, computers, magazine, and in stores the last year, and rightfully so! If you haven't heard through grapevine, Eat, Pray Love is a memoir about a modern woman who has everything women typically dream of having — a husband, a house, and a successful career. After a crying fit on her bathroom floor at 2 .a.m in the morning she realizes that this isn't the life she wants, and after a painful divorce, takes off on a journey around the world.

Eat, Pray, Love, the book and the movie, is an instant hit because Lord, knows us women can relate to Elizabeth Gilbert's discontentment and personal feelings. Many of us have either been there, tried desperately not to be there, or thought we wanted to be there, then realized, hey I don't want to be here!

Not all women are cut out for marriage, or children for that matter. These women tend to value their independence, sense of adventure, and the ability to fly by the seat of their pants. They may have plenty of friends to surround themselves with and do not need a man to make ends meet. In the past a woman over age 30 who was single aroused sympathy and concern from her married peers: Will she ever be able to find someone and settle down? True, even today, many single women in this demographic dream of hearing wedding bells. Still, an alarming number have the exact opposite attitude and think, Why the heck would I want to get married now?

One can surely understand those feelings after discovering divorce rates in the United States and, more specifically California. It is frequently reported that the divorce rate in America is 50%. This data is not accurate, however, it is reasonably close. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that "40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue." Scary, eh! Divorce is now a common household word, far far away from its historic taboo roots.

Maybe Elizabeth Gilbert's novel and new major motion picture would be more aptly titled as Eat, Pray, Run!