Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Rating: 3/5
I do not consider myself an artist or someone who is regularly creative, but I still got a lot of good information out of this book. I actually listened to it as an audiobook, which I love to do with memoirs and similar books because they are usually read by the author themself. I find that the voice inflection and expression an author uses while they read their own work can provide an even deeper understanding of what they're trying to accomplish.
Elizabeth Gilbert wrote Eat Pray Love, which launched her to "successful" status, but she is very humble and down-to-earth. At the same time, she is pretty spiritual. When she talks about the creative process as "big magic," she literally means magic. I found this to be a really unique and instructive perspective.
At the end of the day, this book was interesting even if it didn't directly relate to my own life. However, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is pursuing or would like to pursue a creative endeavor.