Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

"A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious.” —PopSugar

From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls: the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you’ve dreamed of.
 
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

• ISBN10: 1594634726
• ISBN13: 9781594634727
• Publish Date: 27 September 2016 (first published 22 September 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Riverhead Books,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781594634727

Reviews

I really gave this a shot. I just don’t think this was about what I thought it was going to be about.

This book makes me feel like I’m very logical and all about science and maths, because wow, I failed to get into the tone of this book. I thought I was quite spiritual, but this book is on a whole other level. Perhaps I’m really not the creative type that I thought I might be.

I'm pretty open about spiritual messages and sensing emotions, but for me, this was a bit too much. An idea was passed from one person to the other via a kiss? Yeah, it really wasn't resonating with me unfortunately.

[adamfortuna]

Books on creativity are inspirational for me. They often give me that nudge to continue working on, thinking about or making progress on a passion project. I went into Big Magic looking for that same push, but it somehow fell short. This falls between a memoir about how Gilbert writes and a her own (somewhat unique take) about how creativity grows and spreads between people. While I'm usually able to take inspiration from a book like this, I was left more wanting to read "Eat, Prey Love" than feeling anything relating to creativity.

[Hillary]

Big Magic is blowing up in the creative industry circles. I feel like I am probably the last one to read it. I finally got to it and I was blown away. There were some things that I needed to hear in that book. I know my mom and friends are all supportive but they would be no matter what. Hearing a WRITER document her success and failures really made me feel less alone. I learned a few things from this book. I have listed them below in no special order.

 

You don't need permission to call yourself a writer

I so needed to hear this. I have been a freelance writer for two years now and I  STILL hesitate when people ask me what I do and I am always like well..ummm I am a writer cough I feel like a fraud most days. Gilbert says that all writers feel like this so I guess in a way i really AM a writer. Still after reading this I will attempt to stand up tall and proud and tell people in a clear strong voice that I am a writer.

It is ok to fail

I honestly thought Gilbert had a runaway success with Eat, Pray, Love. Ok ok now I know better. She had many failures before she wrote that book. I had no idea she wrote other books although now I know I put them on my TBR list on Goodreads. I feel better about all my failures now. I will just keep failing until I get a YES!

Ideas are living things and they go to the person that is ready to bring them forth into the world

I know this sounds all hokey and wishy-washy but think about it. Have you ever had an idea then you put it off and when you went to write it, it was all gone. I know I have. Now I know why.

you can have a creative hobby that is just for fun

for me this is photography. I love to take pictures and experiment but I refuse to put pressure on myself to make money from it. Yes I love Instagram but it is a hobby only., I WOULD like to get good enough that I could use my pics on my blog but that is it.

I really loved this book. I read it on a day I was feeling REALLY discouraged. I was feeling like the last two years have been a waste. Then i read her story and I felt better. I understand now that all creative people have days where they feel like their create has got up and gone. Hearing a "successful" writer tell her story about her failures and how she handled them really gave me the boost that I needed.

I also found this book to be totally inspirational. I know some people out there have cruised this book for being really "out there" but to me, I found it soothing like a balm on my withered creative soul.

 

 

 This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land

[wyvernfriend]

Now a lot of it is pretty obvious and nothing new and she does name-drop a bit, but she is famous and does know these people and can name drop. The podcast is a good accompaniment to this. This affirmed for me that I need to do creative stuff for me as well as sometimes letting that creative stuff out in the world and that honestly most of the problems I have exist between keyboard and chair.

Not for everyone, was for me, a reassuring hug and kick in the pants almost simultaneously.