________________ 'Like Eat; Pray; Love; her follow-up ... feels irresistibly confessional ... I found myself guzzling Committed; reading it in mighty chunks; far into the night. Whenever I put it down; it was pinched by my mother or sister' - Sunday Times 'An unblinkered consideration of what marriage really means' - Woman & Home 'Gilbert delves deep into the history and cultural meanings of marriage; as well as into her own relationship' - Financial Times 'Insightful ... She speaks for many who question the bliss in conjugal bonds; or; at least; those who want to understand how the tradition still perpetuates. For better or worse' - Vogue ________________ At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat; Pray; Love; Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe - a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America; the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other; but also swore to never; ever; under any circumstances get legally married (Both survivors of difficult divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the U.S. government; who - after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing - gave the couple a choice: they could either get married; or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed; Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving completely into this topic; trying with all her might to discover (through historical research; interviews and much personal reflection) what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. The result is Committed - a witty and intelligent contemplation of marriage that debunks myths; unthreads fears and suggests that sometimes even the most romantic of souls must trade in her amorous fantasies for the humbling responsibility of adulthood. Gilbert's memoir - destined to become a cherished handbook for any thinking person hovering on the verge of marriage - is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love; with all the complexity and consequence that real love; in the real world; actually entails.