Why it’s essential
With her soothing narration, bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert guides listeners to find inspiration in the world and live a more creative lifestyle.
Featured in The Audible Essentials Top 100.
What is Big Magic about?
Bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert distills the powerful actions anyone can take to live a more creative life in a way that is equal parts imaginative and tangible. Whether your goal is to be a renowned painter or to experience more creative joy in your day-to-day life, this listen is sure to provide the blueprint for change.
Editor's review
Editor Madeline loves memoir, literary fiction that tackles the existential, and all the sapphic stories she can get her hands on.
It’s certainly no understatement to proclaim that Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert changed my life. But what do I really mean by that sweeping statement? In this case, I would say more specifically that the book enhanced my life in a big, bold, and beautiful way. After hearing about this creative guide for years, I choose to listen to the audiobook narrated by Gilbert herself.
At its core, Big Magic is about the deep-rooted satisfaction that can come from committing oneself to living a creative life. Gilbert describes this commitment as a sort of "eternal devotion" to one’s creative nature, honoring it in whichever way it can show up in your life. Using her own personal anecdotes and stories of people she has known, Gilbert drives home the message that you do not need to be a tortured soul to create art, that the outcome of your work is not commensurate with its importance, and, above all, that you can give yourself the permission you have been seeking to live a creative life. She expertly distills how she hones inspiration in her own life, how she leans into ideas so they don’t pass her by, and how she learned to release her own fear in favor of greater joy, curiosity, and creation.
Gilbert is passionate and earnest in her convictions, and her message resonated with me deeply. By the time I had finished listening, my thinking had forever been altered around creativity, writing, and ultimately, life in general. It was just the perspective shift I needed at the exact right time, when the negative and "realistic" voices in my head were threatening to take over. Since listening, I began prioritizing my creative life, my writing time, and my inner world in a way I never previously believed possible. Needless to say, I’m a much more joyful and soulful person for it, and I am forever grateful to Gilbert for giving me the permission slip I needed when I wasn’t strong enough to sign it yet myself.
Did you know?
Some of Gilbert’s favorite books are David Copperfield by Mr. Charles Dickens, Middlemarch by George Elliot, and The Collected Poems of Jack Gilbert
Her time spent bartending in the Lower East Side of Manhattan became the basis for the hit film, Coyote Ugly
What listeners said
"I found myself laughing and filled with joy as I read this book, and I know I will create much more and more easily after reading it." –Leah, Audible listener
"Never before have I listened to a book straight through in one day, but that is exactly what I did with this book. Never have I been so motivated to follow a path that scares the living shit out of me, but Elizabeth Did that to me. If you have a creative bone in your body, and you're wondering whether or not you should heed it's call to creative action, listen to this bloody brilliant woman." –Thomas, Audible listener
"Her lovely, soft voice is always wonderful to hear, and sounds like the voice of a beloved teacher or wise friend who has your best interests at heart, rather than a "motivational" speaker who makes you feel bad about not being as accomplished and fearless as they are. As soon as I finished the book, I started it over again." –Audible listener
Listen if you loved
Quotes from Big Magic
"When I refer to 'creative living,' I’m talking about living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear."
"I happen to believe we are all walking repositories of buried treasure."
"A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life."
"Perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat."
"If you’re alive, you’re a creative person."
"Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?"
About the author and performer
Elizabeth Gilbert knows a thing or two about living a creative life. While she may be best known for her wildly successful memoir, Eat, Pray, Love (which has since been turned into a film starring Julia Roberts as Gilbert), she is also the author of City of Girls, The Signature of All Things, The Last American Man, and more. Her collection of short stories, Pilgrims, was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award.
Elizabeth Gilbert has narrated three of her audiobooks, Big Magic, Eat, Pray, Love, and Committed.
