The literary world already knew Elizabeth Gilbert’s new memoir would be this fall’s hot read, but Oprah Winfrey just sealed the deal.
The talk show host chose “All the Way to the River” as her September pick for Oprah’s Book Club. From the bestselling author of “Eat Pray Love,” this memoir is a reflection on love and grief amid the death of Gilbert’s best friend and partner in 2018.
“With ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ Elizabeth Gilbert started a movement,” Winfrey said in a statement. “This new memoir is just as powerful – raw, unflinching, and deeply healing. She bares her soul, sharing her truth so openly, she offers readers the courage to face their own.”
Oprah’s Book Club September pick: ‘All the Way to the River’ by Elizabeth Gilbert
“All the Way to the River” is the 118th pick for Oprah’s Book Club.
The memoir is about Gilbert’s relationship with Rayya Elias, her friend, hairdresser and, eventually, partner. Gilbert realized she was in love with Elias after Elias was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The two shared a private, non-legally-binding “ceremony of love” in 2017.
This story is a far cry from “Eat Pray Love.” It’s unsparing in its depiction of Elias’ substance abuse, as well as Gilbert’s own sex and love addiction. It’s about codependency as much as it is about love.
“Oprah completely surprised me with a phone call saying that she had chosen ‘All the Way to the River’ for her book club,” Gilbert said in a statement. “I’d been told by my publisher to expect a phone call at a certain time and date that week, but I thought I was going to be talking to my editor about book business. Instead, when I picked up the phone there was that unmistakable voice, Ms. Winfrey herself, saying that she loved my memoir, and believed that it would ‘set people free.’
“There is nothing in the world that can prepare you to receive such a call. I instantly felt like a teenager all over again, watching ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ after school, and learning that there is a much, much bigger world out there than I knew. The honor is astonishing and extraordinary. I aim to be worthy of her faith in my work!”
Gilbert is best known for her 2006 memoir “Eat Pray Love,” which chronicled her year abroad on a personal journey after leaving her husband. In 2010, the story became a movie of the same name starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem. She later wrote “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage,” as a follow-up to her relationship with the man she met in “Eat Pray Love.” Other notable works include self-help book “Big Magic” and her novels “City of Girls” and “The Signature of All Things.”
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.