Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love, has released a new memoir, All the Way to the River, charting her complicated and deeply emotional relationship with musician Rayya Elias. Their friendship blossomed into love after Elias was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016, leading Gilbert to leave her marriage to pursue a partnership that would come to define her later life.
In the memoir, Gilbert recounts their years together with unflinching honesty — from moments of devotion and caregiving to raw admissions about codependence and even darker thoughts during Elias's illness. Critics have described the book as both 'brave' and 'excruciating', while Oprah Winfrey praised it as 'raw, unflinching, and deeply healing' in announcing it as her latest book club pick.
The memoir's release has reignited public interest in Gilbert's life with Elias, with readers eager to revisit their journey through photos that capture love, illness, grief and eventual loss. From their early days as friends to Gilbert's life after Elias's death in 2018, the images highlight the story of a woman who transformed her pain into prose — and found liberation through telling the truth.
