Shelley asked Elizabeth Gilbert:

As a fan of both books, it seems like some of the readers of Eat, Pray, Love do not have the patience for the art that is The Signature of All Things , and are quick to insult the book. I rarely even recommend books to others because it hurts my feelings when they give a flippant, negative review to me. How do you protect your feelings, and continue to be true to what feels right in your writing?

Elizabeth Gilbert Thank you for defending me, Shelley! You are very sweet. But the reality is, other people's opinions of me are none of my business....does that make sense? I write the work that I feel called to write, and I recognize that sometimes people will join me on the journey, and sometimes they won't. But I always think of the line the great German filmmaker Werner Herzog said to a friend of mine who was complaining about his unsuccessful filmmaking career: "It's not the world's fault that you want to be an artist! Stop your complaining and get back to work." I similarly feel that it is not the world's fault that I wanted to be a writer. I can only write from my heart, and then release the outcome. And I'm so grateful to the readers who have come along with me on Alma's journey — it's been sweet to see them join the story. Thank you!

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