At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love,

Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe - a Brazilian-born man of

Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met.

Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other,

but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally

married. (Both survivors of difficult divorces. Enough said.) But

providence intervened one day in the form of the U.S. government, who -

after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing -

gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe

would never be allowed to enter the country again.

Having been

effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by

delving completely into this topic, trying with all her might to

discover (through historical research, interviews and much personal

reflection) what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is.

The result is Committed - a witty and intelligent contemplation

of marriage that debunks myths, unthreads fears and suggests that

sometimes even the most romantic of souls must trade in her amorous

fantasies for the humbling responsibility of adulthood. Gilbert's

memoir - destined to become a cherished handbook for any thinking

person hovering on the verge of marriage - is ultimately a clear-eyed

celebration of love, with all the complexity and consequence that real

love, in the real world, actually entails.

'Like Eat, Pray, Love, her follow-up, Committed, feels irresistibly confessional ... I found myself guzzling Committed, reading it in mighty chunks, far into the night. Whenever I put it down, it was pinched by my mother or sister'

'An unblinkered consideration of what marriage really means'

'Gilbert delves deep into the history and cultural meanings of marriage, as well as into her own relationship'

'Insightful ... She speaks for many who question the bliss in conjugal bonds, or, at least, those who want to understand how the tradition still perpetuates. For better or worse'

The eagerly awaited sequel to the astonishing international bestseller Eat, Pray, Love