Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir starts in her early thirties, when she had the husband, the country house and the successful career a modern American woman was expected to want, yet felt only panic and confusion. She gave up those signs of success and set out for a year to explore three sides of her own nature in three cultures. In Italy she studied pleasure, in India devotion, and on the Indonesian island of Bali she looked for a balance between worldly enjoyment and spiritual transcendence. The 10th anniversary edition adds an updated introduction by Gilbert. The book was later turned into a film directed by Ryan Murphy, with Julia Roberts playing Gilbert.

Chelsea Frank, founder of Life and Limb Gel, named it in an interview about how books revealed her path to self-improvement. Readable founder Gabriel Coarna began reading it right after watching Gilbert give a talk.