Eat, Pray, And Love This!

When a reviewer called my book "the guy-friendly Eat, Pray, Love," I wasn't overwhelmingly flattered. (Drink, Pray, Spank?) Chique lit isn't my specialty. Still, I had to actually read the book to know exactly how to feel. So, I did. I think Elizabeth Gilbert's spiritual travel memoir is a great read for women or men - with some qualifications.

Two factors obviously contributed to the success of Eat, Pray, Love. Firstly, the book is targeted to women of a certain age who are experiencing some life transition or dissatisfaction, a demographic that makes up a huge slice of the avid-reader pie. This is hardly an insult. Men of a certain age experiencing some life transition or dissatisfaction tend to prefer drinking, fishing and playing with a revolver. Current literary culture mostly exists because the ladies exist.

Eat, Pray, Love Those Tatas

Just got back from Tlacotalpan. This photo-ready village, where the Papaloapan River flows out of the jungle to meet the Gulf Coast, is a United Nations World Heritage Site. Yet, few tourists seem to know. The architecture and street music display Native, Spanish and Caribbean influences. The food is downright sexy.

On the riverfront, I slouched away all afternoon at a restaurant patio table. Wrote a chapter for my upcoming book Fresh Wind & Strange Fire. The Pescado a la Veracruzana (fish simmered with tomatoes, chilis, onions, olives, capers and herbs) was succulent. The empty Corona bottles lined up in front of me spoke for themselves. What should I order next? I got a Dulce de Leche. This handmade milk confection was a pure delight.

Thru Virgin Territory

What is sacred ground? Is it eye-pleasing gently-curving terrain meandering down to secluded springs gushing holy water? (You know what I'm talkin´ about.) Is it a cathedral or a mountain or a temple or a beach? No. Sacred ground, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. (And don't you wish you be holdin´ her?)

May I suggest an alternative pilgrimage over equally-inspiring, more-accessible geography, which Coffeetown Press has made available to the masses for less than twenty bucks. One reader called it "the guy-friendly Eat, Pray, Love." (Drink, Pray, Spank?)