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8 Inspiring Books Like Eat, Pray, Love

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Have you read Eat, Pray, Love? The book, that is.

If not, you’re missing out on one of the most popular titles in recent history. But if you have read it, then you know that it’s the story of a woman who takes a year off to travel the world and find herself. Well, I’ve got some good news for you – there are plenty of other books out there with similar themes.

So if you’re in the market for another great travel read and books incredibly similar to Eat, Pray, Love in many aspects, check out these suggestions. You won’t be disappointed!

*This post contains affiliate links, this does not affect your purchase – but allows me to make money from this small book blog*

Incredible books similar to Eat, Pray, Love

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman

Much like Elizabeth in Eat Pray Love, Rachel Friedmad in The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost, has done everything right with her life, and is therefore known as “the Good Girl.” Rachel feels like playing it safe has trapped her into a world that she does not know beyond.

On a whim, she buys a ticket to Ireland to escape impeding life decisions and befriends a free-spirited Australian girl. Through their incredible bond and adventurous trips across three continents, Rachel discovers and embraces her love for travel and unlocks more truths about herself. Good girl learns that there’s more to life than just playing it safe. She learns that life is simply about living for the moment.

You can snag this book on Amazon!

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Like a good meal, a good book can fill you up. And when it comes to Frances Mayes’s lyrical finesse, Under the Tuscan Sun is more than just a meal, it is a feast.

With the power of words and the images of the Italian countryside, Mayes walks us through the beautiful world of Tuscan cuisine. But it is not just the food that fills the pages, it is the heart and soul of Mayes herself that fills your head and warms your heart.

This novel, written more like a book of poetry, is a first-person account of a summer that one does not forget. This book will take you by the hand and guide you along the shorelines of a woman’s heart, and all the treasures that are buried beneath the blue.

You can snag this book on Amazon!

The Lost Girls by Jennifer Baggart

Grace Healey is grieving. She is not the first, nor the last, nor the only at the moment. Many women in 1946 New York City are grieving. Husbands, boyfriends, brothers, all left and only a fraction returned. Grace’s husband was not one of them.

It has been months but the wound still prickles at the thought of him, his body ravaged by the depravity of World War II. And all Grace can seem to hear are more stories about the men who have come back home, and the same old tragedies of the ones who did not make it out.

But what has happened to all the women that have disappeared? One day, as Grace takes her usual route through Grand Central Station, she comes across a briefcase that may just answer that question in a way she would have never predicted. Inside the briefcase, Grace finds dozens of pictures of women, not one is like the other.

Their names are a mystery, as are their faces. But with only a dead husband to mourn, Grace has no choice but to bring home the women who might still be out there. But in order to find out where they are, she must find out who they are. And that is just the beginning. 

Inspiring books like Eat, Pray, Love

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Every ten years a book will come along that takes the cake. All across the country, from bookstore to bookshelf, everyone will have a copy.

Those that read it first will spread the word, those who listen and follow suit will never forget it. Based on her childhood in 50s Mississippi, Kathryn Stockett wrote a novel so personal, and yet so epic that not even an oscar-winning movie adaptation could encapsulate the meteoric rise of this book.

Following our bookish heroine’s return home from college, Skeeter Phelan is a changed woman. She has come home to make a way for herself in the only way she knows how: by the power of the written word. With the enormous courage of the black maids in her small town, Skeeter tells the tale of a world overlooked.

And with this idea comes danger, mystery, political and social intrigue, and just a few too many toilets on somebody’s front lawn.

With a cast of characters as unforgettable as something akin to books likes of Eat Pray Love, The Help is a novel for all to read, and read again, and then maybe again. 

You can snag this book on Amazon!

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

We all know about the circus, a few of us have even been to one or maybe two. But few of us have ever worked for one. Written after her breakout novel, Riding Lessons, this novel follows a drifter and doctor, Jacob, who has just found himself a train for a travelling circus.

His medical skills make him an immediate necessity to the hodgepodge of travelling circus “freaks,” but his mysterious nature and charming qualities piques the particular interest of one equestrian performer. Despite her marriage to another risky man inside the big-top tent, this tale of undeniable love and unforgettable loss will wow you with the same chemistry as the circus itself.

But don’t be fooled: just like the acts themselves, this novel is balanced perfectly. All it takes is a great writer, an unbelievable story, and some magic.

Check out this book on Amazon.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Not all books make us smile, and sometimes that is exactly the point. It does not mean we do not love them, cherish them, or ever forget about them. Some stories, in fact, can be so frightening that you will not forget them no matter how hard you try.

But, unlike others that came before, there is a hint of magic to Alice Sebold’s murder-mystery masterpiece: hope. Susie Salmon, the hero and the victim in this twisted tale, is a  beacon of hope in the darkness of the novel. Narrated from her time in heaven, a murdered girl’s family life unfolds like a shock to the system in the wake of her sudden, evil death.

With the lurking presence of her killer waiting to strike again with every turn of the page, this suspenseful drama will keep you up at night, with a light on, the door locked, and a tissue box by the bed. So don’t be afraid to get lost in the darkened hole of this mysterious family drama. Even if you do, Susie Salmon will be there to guide you back into the light. 

Check out this book on Amazon.

More Books Like Eat, Pray, Love

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Siblings rivalry has always been a thing, but there is a difference in sibling rivalry when your older sister is on the brink of death at least once a week.

But there is an extra wrinkle to this particular family dynamic: what happens when the younger sister was born as a literal life source for her older sister? This nearly impossible question acts as the narrative catalyst to Jodi Picoult’s instant hit.

When Anna, the youngest of two daughters, finally takes it upon herself to stand up against her parent’s intentions, she puts her sister’s health, and their whole relationship into turmoil.

Part courtroom drama, part family saga, and part teenage identity crisis, this novel sweeps your emotions out from under your feet and leaves you only wanting more. It is not an easy read, but it is easily one of the most satisfying reads you can find in your local bookstore today.

Because, believe me, if there were ever a list of books to keep in print, this book would not be a question. The real question is: what would you do, save your dying sister or save yourself? 

Grab this on Amazon!

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

From Jane Austen to Gillian Flynn, the overall power of the female voice has gripped readers for generations. Among those top-tier novels is The Secret Life of Bees. Set in 1960s South Carolina, Lily Owen is a daughter without a mother.

Helpless and ignored by the world, she sees little to care for. Until, that is, she becomes entangled with two black women who must flee with her to the town that holds the secret to the death of Lily’s mother.

Written like a classic literary tale, this semi-modern book takes us across the wetlands, through the swamps, and onto the porches of the rich and racist. Inside the disastrous world of racial injustice and dead mothers, there are bees.

With their pollen, their honey, and their neverending symbolism, Lily Owens finds more than just a refuge in the town that took her mother, she finds a home too. Now all she needs is one answer: who killed her mother? Go find the book and discover it all for yourself today!  

Check out this book on Amazon.

More Books Like This

Hey! Did you enjoy this “books like this” post? Are you interested in reading more and finding more similar novels to other books you’ve read.

This post on riveting novels like From Blood And Ash by Jennifer Armentrout

This amazing recent post on novels like Outlander (the book…not the movie)

Also this post on books similar to A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah. J Mass

I hope you enjoyed this list of books that are similar to Eat, Pray, Love. Which was your favorite? Comment below and let me know!

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