I know some people don’t really go up for Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. It is a privileged and indulgence perspective, but that book was an integral part of my journey. I started reading the night after I finished the Bar exam. At that point, I was well aware that I had no interest in practicing law. In fact, I had known for over a year at that point. But I’d already spent the time in law school so I took the Bar exam as the period to end of a very long, convoluted run on sentence. As much relief as I felt that the exam was over, I found myself on the bathroom floor weeping after the test. I had no idea what I was doing with my life, no idea where I was headed. So I grabbed the book. It opened up with Liz on the bathroom floor sobbing, staring down the end of her marriage. I wept harder. I devoured Eat, Pray, Love. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this tumultuous transition. It comforted me.

So when Elizabeth Gilbert’s episode of Sarah Jones’ Playdate showed up in my podcast feed, I hit play with no hesitation. The very beginning of the episode where Gilbert talks about making friends with the people living in her head sounds weird, even as I write it, but was poignant (2:45). Personifying her fear as a dumb, but lovable, jock helps her speak to it directly, with care and love, and move on (4:25). I also loved her perspective about being your whole self at all times (17:00). Being a person with 152 different interests, it’s important to remind myself that I’m ok and I should show up as my whole self.

Trigger warning: Playdate is a little “different.” I learned of Sarah Jones from an episode of another of my favorite podcasts, Debbie Millman’s Design Matters. Listen to Sarah Jones’ episode first so you can understand what’s going on.