Danielle’s review of All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation > Likes and Comments
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Such a thoughtful read—and right on, in my opinion. I don’t like the idea of being led to an interpretation or conclusion.
Reader wrote: "Such a thoughtful read—and right on, in my opinion. I don’t like the idea of being led to an interpretation or conclusion."
Thanks so much. I really tried to be fair in my review. Memoir can be difficult, but you have to trust your readers.
Kirsten wrote: "I completely agree with this - I echo the exact same thoughts."
Thank you. I am relieved to see that others have had the same reaction.
I highly respect that you didn’t give this a bad rating. I wish all reviewers/readers were that thoughtful.
Currently reading and I agree with your review. While so far this book is making me stop and think, it also is someone still grieving and still what feels like someone struggling with an obsessive love.
Jessica wrote: "I highly respect that you didn’t give this a bad rating. I wish all reviewers/readers were that thoughtful."
Thank you. I have enormous respect for Gilbert as a writer, and just because this book did not resonate with me doesn't mean that it won't be the right book at the right time for someone else.
Ashley wrote: "Currently reading and I agree with your review. While so far this book is making me stop and think, it also is someone still grieving and still what feels like someone struggling with an obsessive ..."
Thanks so much for your note. I agree.
Claire wrote: "So perfectly said,and a reminder that all the balanced and good humans are also on the Internet"
Thanks for your kind words.
The italicized “should” reflects my wordy droning. Brilliant. Exactly my thoughts, but better. Thank you for this!
Holly wrote: "The italicized “should” reflects my wordy droning. Brilliant. Exactly my thoughts, but better. Thank you for this!" Thank you, Holly. I just read and liked your review as well.
I am most of the way through the book and I had a similar reading of it to you, though I came to a different conclusion. I am grateful that we get to see into the processing and narrative of her current experience, even if it is messy and less structured than her other works. I was thinking about her memoirs over the years, and one of the great things about Elizabeth (as a writer, but as the human that she is/portrays herself as in her writing) is her enthusiasm for writing the truth of her experience at the time in her life she is writing it. She has had many iterations, and this is one of them. Her grief and her story, like everyone’s, will be subject to many different interpretations over the years, and I was glad to have an insight into what this looked like right now. I was talking to my mother this morning and said, “I have seen many versions of Liz Gilbert over the last twenty years, and I hope there are more to come”. I think (hope!) this book is a point in her story, and although it is messy and hard and full of self analysis, it’s a part of her journey, and it honestly reflects this moment in her processing. In five year’s time, I think she will write a very different book, and it will be another step, another way of looking, another insight into her humanity. I think as a reviewer, you made the right decision in declining to write a review. Especially on the basis that you did. I might have done the same thing. The lack of trust in the reader might reflect the lack of trust in herself: she’s at the midpoint of rebuilding an identity after loss. But I am still glad she chose to share it with us. What a generous thing, to show yourself to the world when you are in the thick of it. Even though I’m at a very different point in my life, this book made me feel less alone. Like talking to a friend. I think that was her intention.
Sarah wrote: "I am most of the way through the book and I had a similar reading of it to you, though I came to a different conclusion. I am grateful that we get to see into the processing and narrative of her cu..."
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I'm so glad that this book spoke to you in such a powerful way.
Marthe wrote: "I feel the same way. Thank you for writing it so gently." Thank you so much for your comment.
I was never a fan of Eat, Pray, Love—but I am a fan of Liz Gilbert. All the Way to the River was extremely difficult for me to read, and I couldn’t quite understand at first why I felt so angry and disappointed. Your review resonated with me, because it captured much of what I struggled with too.
Gilbert often canonizes Rayya as someone who “stood in her truth,” and yet what comes through is a woman who lied—a lot. Not little lies, but serious, damaging ones. That disconnect was jarring. I’ve even heard Liz speak in person, and she continues to hold Rayya in the highest regard—perhaps because Rayya was her greatest life lesson. And in a way, that tracks.
Where I most agree with you is on the book’s lack of editing. It felt defensive, repetitive, and at times over-explained. As someone in recovery myself, I also felt that some of what Gilbert shared might have been better worked through with a sponsor or with God rather than laid bare in this way. It was simply too much.
That said, I deeply admire Liz Gilbert’s bravery in sharing such raw, painful material. I only wish she had given it more time—or pared it back—before publishing. At moments, it felt like she is still very much in the sickness. Yet I also admire her eagerness to share, to help others, and perhaps to dismantle the ongoing glorification of “celebrity.”
Lee wrote: "I was never a fan of Eat, Pray, Love—but I am a fan of Liz Gilbert. All the Way to the River was extremely difficult for me to read, and I couldn’t quite understand at first why I felt so angry and..."
Thank you for your wonderful comment. I very much appreciated your take on this memoir.
Your review resonates. I thought I was a casual fan of her, I didn’t mind eat pray love, and I really liked city of girls… This book made me mad.
Laura wrote: "Your review resonates. I thought I was a casual fan of her, I didn’t mind eat pray love, and I really liked city of girls… This book made me mad." Thanks very much for your comment.
I appreciate your review and it makes excellent points on what I’ve listened to so far. More messy even on audio than what I’ve seen in the print. BUT that said I know for me is an addictive read that I will fall asleep listening to for the next day or two when I will be finished. Gilbert reads and her soft voice is so good
I am almost halfway through and I’m not sure I can finish it. I find myself doing lots of eye rolling and saying “oh god!”—not in a prayerful way. As someone who had a love one with an addiction, it is hard to romanticize her difficult life as much as Gilbert does in this book (even after she died). I suppose having money results in a different experience. This reads more like a diary or journal than a proper memoir. I may reevaluate when (if) I get to the end. It’s one of those where the end just isn’t coming quickly enough. I rate this as painfully disappointing. Reading the reviews from other readers really helps!
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Thanks so much. I really tried to be fair in my review. Memoir can be difficult, but you have to trust your readers.

Thank you. I am relieved to see that others have had the same reaction.



Thank you. I have enormous respect for Gilbert as a writer, and just because this book did not resonate with me doesn't mean that it won't be the right book at the right time for someone else.

Thanks so much for your note. I agree.

Thanks for your kind words.




Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I'm so glad that this book spoke to you in such a powerful way.


Gilbert often canonizes Rayya as someone who “stood in her truth,” and yet what comes through is a woman who lied—a lot. Not little lies, but serious, damaging ones. That disconnect was jarring. I’ve even heard Liz speak in person, and she continues to hold Rayya in the highest regard—perhaps because Rayya was her greatest life lesson. And in a way, that tracks.
Where I most agree with you is on the book’s lack of editing. It felt defensive, repetitive, and at times over-explained. As someone in recovery myself, I also felt that some of what Gilbert shared might have been better worked through with a sponsor or with God rather than laid bare in this way. It was simply too much.
That said, I deeply admire Liz Gilbert’s bravery in sharing such raw, painful material. I only wish she had given it more time—or pared it back—before publishing. At moments, it felt like she is still very much in the sickness. Yet I also admire her eagerness to share, to help others, and perhaps to dismantle the ongoing glorification of “celebrity.”

Thank you for your wonderful comment. I very much appreciated your take on this memoir.



