commitment
Commitment
Elizabeth Gilbert shot to fame with her autobiographical book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything, a runaway success following its publication in 2006. It tells the story of her travels across continents searching for meaning in life – spiritual and personal – following her divorce after eight years of marriage. It ends with her falling in love with a Brazilian-born Australian citizen, Felipe. The story was made into a major film of the same title starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem released in 2010.
Committed: A Love Story (published in 2010) picks up the story. 
With difficult divorces behind them both, Felipe and Elizabeth are resolved never to marry or to have children. They have exchanged vows to that effect along with promises of eternal fidelity. But their best intentions are met by a serious obstacle: Felipe cannot reside permanently in the USA unless he is legally married to an American citizen; Elizabeth is unwilling to settle permanently anywhere else except in the same country as her family. Thwarted by the law and bureaucracy they travel extensively, live frugally, struggle with their consciences and their conflicts; they even spend time apart. But the authorities are adamant: marriage is the only way for them to live together permanently in the States. To this particular couple it feels like a prison sentence.
Gilbert’s response is to delve into what marriage really means – across cultures, across countries, across the centuries. She debunks assorted myths and received wisdom, she unravels statistics and probabilities, she doesn’t shy away from the intimate details of their experiences, their inner doubts and fears. And through that experience she discovers where un-negotiable boundaries lie, where compromises must be made, and what at the end of the day is most important in life.
It’s a heart-warmingly intimate story, sharing vulnerability and mistakes, eminently readable and refreshingly honest, and feels like a happy-ever-after ending which is heartening in itself. The analytical approach will force many a reader to examine their own marriages, I suspect!
However, the Internet reveals that Gilbert’s marriage to Felipe (real name José) ended in 2016 after just nine years, and she has since had short-term relationships with others of both sexes. Takes one back to the essential premises she establishes in Commitment to ask the questions all over again.
The power of storytelling
Last year, during lockdown, I did a short online course in oral storytelling. Stories do indeed have a power and appeal of their own, and I’ve personally gained confidence and courage as I’ve used the techniques I learned in various contexts since.
So I was delighted to find a collection of stories told in a fascinating way and used to make important points. It was while listening to an online talk given by philosopher/sociologist/theologian Elaine Storkey, that I heard her reference one of her own books: Women in a Patriarchal World, and I was intrigued enough to order a copy. I expected it to be deeply erudite and scholarly and a one-chapter-at-a-time kind of volume. Not a bit of it! It’s based on her erudition certainly, but presented in a light and eminently accessible form.
Her initial statement, instantly got me – a fellow storyteller – on side:
Storytelling is a powerful form of communication.
Wahey. Tick.
At the very least, it presents us with characters, a location and a plot and invites us to listen in.
I’m listening …
Good storytelling goes much further.
Go on …
It opens up the shared humanity of others so that we get inside their life situation, travel with them and learn from their experiences.
And that’s exactly what her ‘good storytelling’ does. In twenty five chapters she tells the stories of women in the patriarchal world of Bible times – the midwives in the time of Moses, the five daughters of Zelophehad, Rahab the prostitute, Deborah the prophetess, the wise woman of Abel Beth Maakah, Huldah the prophetess, Lydia, Priscilla, Euodia and Syntyche, to name but a few. From these stories she draws out compelling lessons for us today; lessons that challenge us to see the issues of our own time, and think about what we could do to alleviate suffering, right wrongs, make the world a safer and kinder place. Every chapter, every story, has a section bringing important issues right up to date – Facing our challenges today, followed by a couple of Questions to ponder.
And those twenty-first century challenges include a wide range of big issues like leadership, oppression, injustice, commitment, resisting wrong, prostitution, nationalism, life and death decision making, morality, risk-taking, infertility, conflict resolution, safeguarding of children, whistle-blowing, climate change, empowerment of women. Impressive, huh?
But also disturbing stuff. What exactly am I doing to address the problems that beset our nation, our world, our time? And where I do ‘dabble’, how can I be more effective?
This writer is indeed a powerful storyteller. She’s also a strong example of someone who lives what she teaches. Multi-talented, esteemed and productive, but with a humility borne of her own deep faith.