Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert offers her self-help book to anyone daring to live a creative life, no matter how big or small.
Overview
Being creative can be scary, especially in a digital age where social media seems to suggest everybody else is already living a vivid, more unique life than you. Enter then the ever-joyful, ever-encouraging Elizabeth Gilbert, author of bestselling memoir Eat Pray Love, a number of novels, and circa 2015, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, a self-help book encouraging creative types of all kinds to let go of their fears and embrace their passions.
Throughout Big Magic, one of Gilbert's main goals is taking away the common fears, pressures, and unhealthy habits associated with creativity. You don't have to be a tortured, starving artist to be successful, or even good at what you do. Being a substance abuser, or even just a jerk for the sake of your art is not admirable. Passions should bring joy, not despair. It's a seemingly obvious and straightforward notion, yet as Gilbert points out, the history of the creative process and successful artists has long been polluted with stories of success through struggle and anguish.
This process has likewise been compromised by the greed and inflated importance of higher education. While Gilbert always encourages growth and learning, she cautions that professional schooling is not a requirement for you to live your most creative life. Not every novelist has an MFA, in fact, most don't, and one should especially pause before pursuing any expensive degrees. Debt is a burden difficult for creativity to bloom beneath.
On the subject of finances, Gilbert likewise suggests (gently and not pessimistically) that you don't have to make a living out of your passion for it to be enjoyable. Sometimes a hobby is best enjoyed as a hobby instead of a career. However, as Gilbert nods to Etsy in her acknowledgements, it is possible to make your passion at least a side gig if you possess the time and diligence.
Structure, Tone, and Defining "Big Magic"
A book written in six distinct parts, each section of Big Magic is broken down into multiple mini chapters with several clever and engaging titles. On a minor technical level, these vignettes are sometimes hard to navigate and reference later, and having an index or a more descriptive table of contents would have better helped navigation.
Tonally, Gilbert's writing blends moments of high mysticism with grounded common sense. The "big magic" of the title refers to the sometimes otherworldliness of inspiration and the creative process. To be grasped by an idea, or caught in a creative flow for three hours when it feels like five minutes, is a moment of extraordinary magic occurring in our mundane world. Gilbert balances out these accounts of inspired transcendence with her refreshingly practical, down-to-earthiness. She is both enchanting and humble, encouraging and gently honest - a big distinction from brutally honest, as her goal is to be uplifting at all times.
Both generic and specific enough to speak to wide swaths of creative interests, as a self-help book Big Magic feels less overly instructional and more freeing and inspiring; Gilbert isn't going to give you a step-by-step, detailed list on how to follow your dreams, but her broad strokes of positivity and encouragement do the work of inspiring confidence and excitement in the reader's creative interests. She motivates you to chase your curiosities, whether that means learning the cello, taking up nail art, decorating pottery, writing a novel, making quilts out of old T-shirts, or anything else that excites you.
Inspiring Examples
At times, Big Magic leans into Gilbert’s own writing roots and recounts several uplifting examples applying to would-be writers, however there are some sprinklings of non-writer anecdotes as well. Favorites include a middle aged ice skater, a ninety-year-old expert on ancient Mesopotamia, and Gilbert’s own foray into gardening which eventually lead to her botanical explorer novel, The Signature of All Things.
Slight Critiques
While recognizing this is not a coffee table book depicting every type of artsy person and the various unique things they create, a few additional examples of uncommon creativity would have been greatly appreciated. Despite the non-writer anecdotes, the book still leans more toward helping writers and traditional artists than any other group. What about jewelry makers, fashion designers, and architects? Origami artists, LEGO builders, and yarn sculptors? Gilbert only has so many pages, but in a world where Instagram and Etsy exist, leaning on the side of more examples vs. less would have further aided the book's purpose as a resource for anyone with a creative interest. The technology of today allows us to be surrounded by more uncommon beauty than ever before, and a greater inclusion of unique passions and people would have only further driven home Gilbert's message that anyone can live a creative life.
Likewise, while this is a self-help book and thus focused on strengthening the individual reader's creativity, there seems to be an absence of advice on finding creative communities, be they finding or starting a club/workshop/Facebook group, or just being inspired by your favorite Instagram accounts. Creative pursuits are often solitary, but they don't have to be lonely. Work can often benefit from connection and interaction with peers, mentors, or a supportive partner/friend/family member. Inspiration doesn't always come from within, so why not surround yourself with things in the real world that enrich your imaginary one?
Recommended For
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear is fairly applicable to most readers, though it might be most helpful to the following:
Anyone taking up a new hobby.
Anyone looking to get back into a hobby, or perhaps craving some much needed encouragement after being discouraged.
Any and all crafters, artisans, hobbyists, and other creative types.
Anyone facing a creative crisis, or needing even the littlest bit of encouragement.
Actually, everyone deserves encouragement and positivity. Read this book to strengthen your bravery, to quiet the critics and the naysayers, to get out of your own head. Big Magic encourages the reader to let go of their creative burdens, fears, and unhealthy habits/expectations. Whether young or old or somewhere in between, the creative life you're meant to lead should be joyful and fulfilling. It is not without its doubts and challenges, but don't let those stop you from trying, stop you from enjoying what you love to do. Why live in fear, when the world is so full of limitless magic just waiting for you to experience it?
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