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All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation
What if your most beautiful love story turned into your biggest nightmare? An essential, universally resonant new memoir from the #1 bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and Big Magic.
Twenty years ago, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love inspired millions of readers to embark upon their own journeys of self-discovery. A decade later, Big Magic empowered countless others to live their most creative lives. Now comes another landmark book—about love and loss, addiction and recovery, grief and liberation.
In 2000, a friend sent Liz to see a new hairdresser named Rayya Elias. An intense and unlikely curiosity sparked between these two apparent opposites: Rayya, an East Village badass who lived boldly on her own terms but feared she was a failed artist; Liz, a married people-pleaser with a surprisingly unfettered sense of creativity. Over the years, they became friends, then best friends, then inseparable. When tragedy entered their lives, the truth was finally laid bare: The two were in love. Unacknowledged: they were also a pair of addicts, on a collision course toward catastrophe.
What if the love of your life—and the person you most trusted in the world—became a danger to your sanity and wellbeing? What if the dear friend who taught you so much about your self-destructive tendencies became the unstable partner with whom you disastrously reenacted every one of them? And what if your most devastating heartbreak opened a pathway to your greatest awakening?
All the Way to the River is for everyone who has ever been captive to love – or to any other passion, substance, or craving—and who yearns, at long last, for peace and freedom.
Twenty years ago, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love inspired millions of readers to embark upon their own journeys of self-discovery. A decade later, Big Magic empowered countless others to live their most creative lives. Now comes another landmark book—about love and loss, addiction and recovery, grief and liberation.
In 2000, a friend sent Liz to see a new hairdresser named Rayya Elias. An intense and unlikely curiosity sparked between these two apparent opposites: Rayya, an East Village badass who lived boldly on her own terms but feared she was a failed artist; Liz, a married people-pleaser with a surprisingly unfettered sense of creativity. Over the years, they became friends, then best friends, then inseparable. When tragedy entered their lives, the truth was finally laid bare: The two were in love. Unacknowledged: they were also a pair of addicts, on a collision course toward catastrophe.
What if the love of your life—and the person you most trusted in the world—became a danger to your sanity and wellbeing? What if the dear friend who taught you so much about your self-destructive tendencies became the unstable partner with whom you disastrously reenacted every one of them? And what if your most devastating heartbreak opened a pathway to your greatest awakening?
All the Way to the River is for everyone who has ever been captive to love – or to any other passion, substance, or craving—and who yearns, at long last, for peace and freedom.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2025
1052 people are currently reading
27130 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Gilbert
49 books34.5k followersElizabeth Gilbert is an award-winning writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Her short story collection Pilgrims was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway award, and her novel Stern Men was a New York Times notable book. Her 2002 book The Last American Man was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award.
Her memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, spent 57 weeks in the #1 spot on the New York Times paperback bestseller list. It has shipped over 6 million copies in the US and has been published in over thirty languages. A film adaptation of the book was released by Columbia Pictures with an all star cast: Julia Roberts as Gilbert, Javier Bardem as Felipe, James Franco as David, Billy Crudup as her ex-husband and Richard Jenkins as Richard from Texas.
Her latest novel, The Signature of All Things, will be available on October 1, 2013. The credit for her profile picture belongs to Jennifer Schatten.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
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September 11, 2025I read an early proof of this book over the weekend and was scheduled to write a book review for publication. I have read other books by this author -- both fiction and memoir -- and rated them highly. But after finishing this book, I decided to bow out of writing the review.
When it comes down to it, I could not find my way to that charged, shared space between author and reader. Despite Gilbert's skillful writing, the narrative is uneven--thoughtful, beautifully written passages give way to long sections of hyper-analysis and over-explanation. I am also wary of vague, platitudinous recovery language that can give the impression of communicating more than it actually is. It is almost as though the writer doesn't quite trust the reader with her story alone, and must also explain in great detail how the story should be interpreted.
I cannot really fault the author for this. She is only a few years out from one of the most traumatic, revelatory periods of her life, and she is writing her way through grief and all of the changes that have followed. It is clear that she is still deeply in the recovery/self-reflection process. I wish that she had given the manuscript either one more round of edits to tighten up the structure--is she is so successful a writer that editors are reluctant to give her notes?--or perhaps, even better, allowed herself just a bit more grace and time before attempting to write it. I believe that the memoir that she might write in five years would look very different from this one.
No rating.
When it comes down to it, I could not find my way to that charged, shared space between author and reader. Despite Gilbert's skillful writing, the narrative is uneven--thoughtful, beautifully written passages give way to long sections of hyper-analysis and over-explanation. I am also wary of vague, platitudinous recovery language that can give the impression of communicating more than it actually is. It is almost as though the writer doesn't quite trust the reader with her story alone, and must also explain in great detail how the story should be interpreted.
I cannot really fault the author for this. She is only a few years out from one of the most traumatic, revelatory periods of her life, and she is writing her way through grief and all of the changes that have followed. It is clear that she is still deeply in the recovery/self-reflection process. I wish that she had given the manuscript either one more round of edits to tighten up the structure--is she is so successful a writer that editors are reluctant to give her notes?--or perhaps, even better, allowed herself just a bit more grace and time before attempting to write it. I believe that the memoir that she might write in five years would look very different from this one.
No rating.
July 3, 2025
Elizabeth Gilbert’s partner Rayya dies and initially she hears her vividly and clearly in her consciousness, so much so, she still seems to command the room. Then it begins to diminish and more than five years pass, her voice has faded but then suddenly, there she is again. In the interim, Elizabeth gets herself together, with sobriety for one. Suddenly on her 54th birthday there she is and Rayya tells her she loves her and will be waiting for her at the river when all this is over and that it’s time for her to write an honest book about her addictions. Just as suddenly as she appears, she’s gone. Liz follows Rayya’s advice and so here goes! She does her best to tell us the truth about what happens between her and Rayya Elias, no holds barred.
This is quite some memoir as it takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey. The authors grief at losing Rayya is so intense that it’s palpable. Her many struggles are explained with searing honesty as she lays herself open and bare. It’s incredibly honest about her addictions, co-dependency and instability and so at times it’s a bit brutal. However, if you’re going to write a book like this, it’s utterly pointless unless you are honest or you derive nothing positive from it. I do hope it’s been a cathartic experience for her as part of her healing.
What of Rayya? She is portrayed so lovingly, vividly and her often unfiltered truth is at times awe inspiring in the reactions that she gets from people. Elizabeth Gilbert makes me wish I’d had the privilege of meeting her as she does sound a force of nature and quite simply fantastic.
Interspersed between the narrative are some wonderful sketches and poems that add to the reading experience.
Overall, it’s raw, heartbreaking and sad and yet there’s optimism and healing too. It’s beautifully written and very powerful.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bloomsbury Publishing for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
This is quite some memoir as it takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey. The authors grief at losing Rayya is so intense that it’s palpable. Her many struggles are explained with searing honesty as she lays herself open and bare. It’s incredibly honest about her addictions, co-dependency and instability and so at times it’s a bit brutal. However, if you’re going to write a book like this, it’s utterly pointless unless you are honest or you derive nothing positive from it. I do hope it’s been a cathartic experience for her as part of her healing.
What of Rayya? She is portrayed so lovingly, vividly and her often unfiltered truth is at times awe inspiring in the reactions that she gets from people. Elizabeth Gilbert makes me wish I’d had the privilege of meeting her as she does sound a force of nature and quite simply fantastic.
Interspersed between the narrative are some wonderful sketches and poems that add to the reading experience.
Overall, it’s raw, heartbreaking and sad and yet there’s optimism and healing too. It’s beautifully written and very powerful.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bloomsbury Publishing for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2025
Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir is the story of her relationship with Rayya Elias, their battle with addiction, Rayya's death from pancreatic and liver cancer, and Elizabeth's journey to healing. This book is a very raw account of the last 18 months of Rayya's life, the love they shared, the destructive behaviors of addiction, recovery, forgiveness, the process of dying, and ultimately love of oneself and others. The book is interspersed with poetry, art, prayer.
The book was very, very well done. It was gut-wrenching, sad, hopeful, and beautiful in more ways than I can express in this review. The author does not shy away from admitting her own failures and being honest about her addiction. Likewise, she is completely open about Rayya's imperfections, something that I think would not be easy to do given the circumstances.
One thing that this book really did for me was educate me on the addictions of love, sex, and codependency. These are not things you typically think about like alcohol or drugs. I mean, how could LOVE be an addiction? I have to admit that I was skeptical at first; in fact, I did what I expect many non-addicts do - think "That's not a real addiction!" But the author does a great job at explaining how these things are very real and very destructive.
I will also admit that I'm very traditionally religious. This book is not that at all. The author's idea of religion and of God is very different. God is not necessarily a traditional image of God, though she and Rayya pray to a God. Her higher power, to use the language of the author, is one that is an enigma. She says this about God toward the beginning of the book:
Not a king, not a judge, not a father.
Not a mother, either - although that comes somewhat closer.
Not the word - but not against words.
Not a list of commandments - but an expression of extraordinary tenderness.
Not a series of laws - but an offering of guidance.
Not the silence - but the silence just beyond the silence.
Not a fact - but a knowing.
I loved that the author was so fluid in her expectations of God. At times throughout the book, she railed against him (of course), she begged for God's intercession, she sought God's counsel, she thanked God for her blessings, she cursed God. I admired that her idea of religion was an ever-present force in her life.
I'm so glad I got to read this really wonderful book. It is by no means an easy read, but well worth the time spent. 4.5⭐s from me!
Many thanks to NetGalley and RiverHead Books for an advanced copy of this book. It's scheduled to be published on September 9, 2025.
The book was very, very well done. It was gut-wrenching, sad, hopeful, and beautiful in more ways than I can express in this review. The author does not shy away from admitting her own failures and being honest about her addiction. Likewise, she is completely open about Rayya's imperfections, something that I think would not be easy to do given the circumstances.
One thing that this book really did for me was educate me on the addictions of love, sex, and codependency. These are not things you typically think about like alcohol or drugs. I mean, how could LOVE be an addiction? I have to admit that I was skeptical at first; in fact, I did what I expect many non-addicts do - think "That's not a real addiction!" But the author does a great job at explaining how these things are very real and very destructive.
I will also admit that I'm very traditionally religious. This book is not that at all. The author's idea of religion and of God is very different. God is not necessarily a traditional image of God, though she and Rayya pray to a God. Her higher power, to use the language of the author, is one that is an enigma. She says this about God toward the beginning of the book:
Not a king, not a judge, not a father.
Not a mother, either - although that comes somewhat closer.
Not the word - but not against words.
Not a list of commandments - but an expression of extraordinary tenderness.
Not a series of laws - but an offering of guidance.
Not the silence - but the silence just beyond the silence.
Not a fact - but a knowing.
I loved that the author was so fluid in her expectations of God. At times throughout the book, she railed against him (of course), she begged for God's intercession, she sought God's counsel, she thanked God for her blessings, she cursed God. I admired that her idea of religion was an ever-present force in her life.
I'm so glad I got to read this really wonderful book. It is by no means an easy read, but well worth the time spent. 4.5⭐s from me!
Many thanks to NetGalley and RiverHead Books for an advanced copy of this book. It's scheduled to be published on September 9, 2025.
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January 18, 2025this one is gonna hUrt
no-never
August 31, 2025How does not a single review on here mention that Gilbert tried/planned to murder Rayya?
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September 9, 2025This was so very…Oprah
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January 19, 2025FINALLY! Another Elizabeth Gilbert book! The author who got me into reading 3+ years ago after reading City Of Girls. So excited.
September 9, 2025
this is actually a DNF. I'm disappointed. I have read most of what Gilbert has written. I really enjoy and admire her as a person and an author. some of her short work about Rayya is the best work she's ever done (like her Moth story. I still think about that almost weekly).
unfortunately this exact book is almost unreadable. Another reviewer put it well: it's like she can't trust the reader with the story as it happened and she has to tell you every step of the way her inner dialogue. the long asides and amateur addiction explanations are as uncompelling as they are self indulgent.
unfortunately this exact book is almost unreadable. Another reviewer put it well: it's like she can't trust the reader with the story as it happened and she has to tell you every step of the way her inner dialogue. the long asides and amateur addiction explanations are as uncompelling as they are self indulgent.
September 9, 2025
All The Way to the River
By Elizabeth Gilbert
I read Eat, Pray, Love back when it was published, and parts, especially the elements that celebrated other cultures and attempting immersion in those cultures, really inspired me, however I found the author's attitude to the people she discarded along her journey distasteful. The idea that she redeemed her life and found her happy ever after seemed like the point.
Then... here we go again.
I'm so sorry for her loss but this one reeks of privilege, narcissism, lip service and self sabotage. I find it very hard to empathise once again. Are we looking at resolution?
Hmm. I wonder is this going to be a trilogy?
Thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eGalley in exchange for an honest review.
By Elizabeth Gilbert
I read Eat, Pray, Love back when it was published, and parts, especially the elements that celebrated other cultures and attempting immersion in those cultures, really inspired me, however I found the author's attitude to the people she discarded along her journey distasteful. The idea that she redeemed her life and found her happy ever after seemed like the point.
Then... here we go again.
I'm so sorry for her loss but this one reeks of privilege, narcissism, lip service and self sabotage. I find it very hard to empathise once again. Are we looking at resolution?
Hmm. I wonder is this going to be a trilogy?
Thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2025
“This book is also about the many ways that people—despite their best efforts at living sane and stable lives—can sometimes get swept up into high-octane dramas and traumas, finding themselves washed up on shores that can feel very distant from their true natures.”
Excerpt From
All the Way to the River
Gilbert,Elizabeth
So.good.
Excerpt From
All the Way to the River
Gilbert,Elizabeth
So.good.
August 1, 2025
I haven't read any of Elizabeth Gilbert's recent books but this one just wasn't a good fit for me. Although I enjoyed the illustrations and appreciated the honest and candid tone of her writing, I found the chapters and the prose chaotic to follow and each chapter I felt I was missing something, like there was a book before this one that explained more of the details and background, maybe there is? It just didn't capture me, I empathised with the grief and challenges of addiction, but this felt a whirlwind of codependency and compared to other raw books on grief and addiction I just couldn't find a way in to connect.
July 19, 2025
Elizabeth Gilbert’s new memoir, All the Way to the River, is as radiantly tender as it is searingly raw. The author invites us along on a personal deep dive into love and loss, into grief and the mechanisms of all-consuming addictions in whatever form. This is a book of love and blunt vulnerability told with absolute honesty. If I could give it 10 stars, I would, and then ask for more.
Elizabeth Gilbert met Rayya Elias in 2000 when she asked Rayya, a musician, filmmaker, and hairdresser, to cut her hair. In the following years, the two became close friends, never wanting to be apart. When Rayya was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer in 2016, they professed their love for one another and had a private commitment ceremony.
As in her first memoir, Eat Pray Love, Gilbert doesn’t flinch from the truth of self-examination. She faces, with absolute honesty, the reality of being codependent and addicted to love. She finds her way through 12-step programs and onwards into the realm of spiritual awakening and surrender. It’s here that her healing begins.
If you liked Eat Pray Love, I can highly recommend this book. It struck a deep chord within me, and I know it is one I will reread.
My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 7, 2025
I cannot abide this woman. She needs psychiatric counsel and medication management. She is a menace to society.
July 16, 2025
This is the kind of book where you spend the last 150 pages out of breath from crying so intensely. This book is full of vulnerability and love and pain and is really just a sucker punch to your most sensitive parts.
April 18, 2025
5 stars for Liz always. Wowwww I missed her nonfiction! So well-done. Will write more later, I am still just processing all the wonderful drops of wisdom from this book.
May 19, 2025
een boek die ik geopend heb, tijd gegeven heb en terug heb weggelegd. Niet mijn ding, schrijfstijl loopt stroef.
September 11, 2025
I devoured this book in 24 hours. I read the hardback when I was still (and so I could see the drawings) and I listened to the audio version when I was moving (and so I could hear her voice). This is a masterpiece in truth-telling, honesty, love, addiction, life, and ultimately peace and hope. I am gutted by this book; in the most beautiful way. ❤️
September 8, 2025
I have mixed feelings about this book. There are some touching, meaningful parts that are written well and will be helpful to many people. Also some parts that didn’t work for me, including most of the drawings and poems…where less is more in my opinion. One thing for sure, it is brave for an author as well-known and loved as this to be so honest about her life.
August 8, 2025
Disappointed
May 7, 2025
i love you liz gilbert. thank you for writing truth always
September 10, 2025
I binged this one straight through.
Sooooo worth it.
Liz Gilbert has always felt like a dear friend to me…I LOVED Eat, Pray, Love and felt like I had lost a friend when it was over.
And now here she is again, wiser, rawer, walking the same stretch of life I am.
This book is a stunning confession.
A potent testament to honesty.
A reflection for us all.
Love, loss, addiction, liberation, it’s all here.
She doesn’t gloss it, she doesn’t romanticize it.
She lays down the truth of her relationship with Rayya, caring for Rayya, of codependency, of staring into the darkest corners of love and still choosing to walk through.
What moved me most was how much of my own inner work I felt in her words.
While different, healing on the deepest levels requires the same from all of us.
The surrender.
The brutal honesty.
The shedding of masks, even shaving her head, even saying “enough” to the things that keep us bound.
And I have to say, listen to the audiobook if you can.
To hear Liz read it herself is something special.
It feels like she’s right there with you, speaking straight from her heart to yours.
♥️🙏🏼
Sooooo worth it.
Liz Gilbert has always felt like a dear friend to me…I LOVED Eat, Pray, Love and felt like I had lost a friend when it was over.
And now here she is again, wiser, rawer, walking the same stretch of life I am.
This book is a stunning confession.
A potent testament to honesty.
A reflection for us all.
Love, loss, addiction, liberation, it’s all here.
She doesn’t gloss it, she doesn’t romanticize it.
She lays down the truth of her relationship with Rayya, caring for Rayya, of codependency, of staring into the darkest corners of love and still choosing to walk through.
What moved me most was how much of my own inner work I felt in her words.
While different, healing on the deepest levels requires the same from all of us.
The surrender.
The brutal honesty.
The shedding of masks, even shaving her head, even saying “enough” to the things that keep us bound.
And I have to say, listen to the audiobook if you can.
To hear Liz read it herself is something special.
It feels like she’s right there with you, speaking straight from her heart to yours.
♥️🙏🏼
September 10, 2025
I hungrily consumed Liz’s latest in 2 days. As a lifer fan of her writing (all of it) I’m always eager to hear from her. This book was a reminder that we’ve become a culture accustomed to judging and canceling. And, while there are certainly many things I could critique (lots of cringe behavior) I’m ultimately admiring her speaking her truth without filtering it. I’m more interested in reading her story through that lens, and not the expectant Eat Pray Love fangirl lens. To be able to publish this type of vulnerability should be celebrated, and that’s what I’m choosing to do. I also appreciated that she acknowledges that she “had it all figured out” after Eat Pray Love. And that she ended up abandoning a lot of the practices she developed during that time and went back into her patterns. Again, it was the honesty (over her lowest points!) that I found refreshing.
September 7, 2025
Eat, Pray, Love was the first book I read on my kindle back in 2011 when I was 18. I chose it simply based on the high reviews and while I couldn’t relate to all of it at the time, I still was able to lose myself in Gilbert’s writing.
I picked up this book after seeing it on Book of the Month and read the summary thinking “wow her life has really gone off the rails since I last read one of her books” and proceeded to dive right in to this chaotic and wild ride which I devoured in one day. While this book contains some weirdness and things I don’t really believe in, I once again found myself captivated by Gilbert’s writing and found this to be one of the most vulnerable, raw and honest books about life, love, healing and obsession I’ve ever read. For that alone it’s a 5/5 for me.
I picked up this book after seeing it on Book of the Month and read the summary thinking “wow her life has really gone off the rails since I last read one of her books” and proceeded to dive right in to this chaotic and wild ride which I devoured in one day. While this book contains some weirdness and things I don’t really believe in, I once again found myself captivated by Gilbert’s writing and found this to be one of the most vulnerable, raw and honest books about life, love, healing and obsession I’ve ever read. For that alone it’s a 5/5 for me.
July 26, 2025
My thoughts on this book are complicated. A vulnerable accounting of love, addiction and loss that, at times, was incredibly powerful. I commend the author for being brave enough to tell this story the way that she did and would recommend beyond just fans of Eat Pray Love.
September 10, 2025
I listened and finished this in about 24 hrs … heartbreaking and heart healing at the same time. Stories of struggle with addiction, codependency, love, loss, and grief. Definitely a book I’ll be listening to over and over!
September 10, 2025
Intensely honest and beautiful. You absolutely nailed the voice of Rayya.
September 11, 2025
Eat Pray Love, but for the streets. Genuinely moving. This will be harder to go back to read again like EPL, yet still will because there’s so many powerful insights and both women are incredible!
July 18, 2025
Elizabeth Gilbert can encourage, inspire and motivate us by taking us through her own experiences. This book is no different however in her latest book she cuts to the heart and shares a gut wrenching story of love, pain, addiction and loss. Through deep introspection she bares her soul on the page about her addiction and finding/losing the greatest love of her life. Addicted to sex and love, Elizabeth was a people pleaser who had to break free from her best friend and soulmate, also an addict, as she was dying.
Powerless to do anything to save her but knowing that staying together would end both of them she made the impossible choice. Honest, beautiful writing that will resonate with those who battle addiction or love an addict as well as those caregivers to terminally ill loved ones. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
Powerless to do anything to save her but knowing that staying together would end both of them she made the impossible choice. Honest, beautiful writing that will resonate with those who battle addiction or love an addict as well as those caregivers to terminally ill loved ones. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
August 10, 2025
I didn’t like the writing style at first, and I don’t know why I didn’t because I highlighted so much in the first chapters in the book.
It is breathtaking the journey that she takes is on, I started the book feeling like I was reading about struggles that were so alien to me and ended the book relating to every single word.
It is breathtaking the journey that she takes is on, I started the book feeling like I was reading about struggles that were so alien to me and ended the book relating to every single word.
August 17, 2025
I don’t totally have words to explain how incredible this memoir is. Elizabeth Gilbert writes in a way that makes you keep coming back for more. Her words are like sugar melting in your mouth.
If you’ve read Untamed by Glennon Doyle, there are many parts that reel reminiscent of her story. There are also many parts that do not!
Gilbert is raw and real in her storytelling and experiences with addiction, either with her own or in relation to those around her.
My copy is tabbed front to back, many times with multiple tabs on a single page. I cannot wait for this book to come out.
If you’ve read Untamed by Glennon Doyle, there are many parts that reel reminiscent of her story. There are also many parts that do not!
Gilbert is raw and real in her storytelling and experiences with addiction, either with her own or in relation to those around her.
My copy is tabbed front to back, many times with multiple tabs on a single page. I cannot wait for this book to come out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews