And the winner is….GAIA KOWALIK!!!!
Dear Everyone!
So, as some of you know, I have this subscription-only email newsletter called LizNews (check out the sign-up box on the top of this page), and that's where I always announce all the coolest and grooviest stuff first. It's also where I do book giveaway contests! And lately I've been giving a way one signed copy of "The Signature of All Things" every month — which is a particularly cool and groovy notion, because the book won't be officially published till October!
Each month, then, I choose a winner based on one simple question. This month's question was, "What travel experience most changed YOUR life?" (I think you all know which travel experience most changed mine…)
There were thousands of responses, but I had to give the prize to Gaia Kowalik, because I loved the spirit of her answer. She talked about being stuck in Amsterdam after a bad divorce (is there any other kind?), and how night after night she found herself going to the same Irish pub, because the only thing that brought her any joy in the midst of her depression was hearing live Irish music. After a while, she put it together that it would probably make more sense to just go directly to Ireland, and cut out the middleman (fake Irish pub in Holland) so off she went to County Donegal, following the music that made her happy.
That was 8 years ago, and she has never left Ireland since! And she has never been happier, surrounded by the music she loves (and by the rain, too, but she doesn't let that get to her!)
I love this story for two reasons — 1) because I've always dreamed of spontaneously going somewhere far away and never leaving, and 2) what a simple pathway Gaia found to joy…listen for the music, and follow the song where it leads you. And then STAY there, in the center of that joy.
Well done, Gaia! A toast to a great adventure and a life well lived, and THANK YOU to the thousands of you who also shared your incredible journeys of transformation-through-travels, be it near or far! You are all so inspiring!
Gaia, I have just mailed out your signed copy of "The Signature of All Things" (with the lovely Australian cover, as you requested!) in the mail. I hope you come to love my heroine Alma Whittaker — also a great adventurer. You are my first overseas winner, and I hope there will be more in the future!
And for anyone who would like to get in on the next giveaway contest, be sure to sign up for my LizNews Newsletter! There is a signup tab at the top of the page here, or you can sign up on the home page of my website, right here:
https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/
Next contest coming in about two weeks…don't miss it!
Happy Reading, Gaia! (And happy dancing, too!)
In fact…happy reading and happy dancing to us all,
Xo
Liz
Elizabeth Gilbert | Elizabeth Gilbert – The Official Website | ElizabethGilbert.com
www.elizabethgilbert.com
Home to the writer Elizabeth Gilbert. Her new book, The Signature of All Things, coming soon!
