What to do after a divorce and rebound love affair leave you sobbing on the bathroom floor, praying to God for the very first time? If you’re writer Elizabeth Gilbert you get a book deal, and go to Italy to eat, India to meditate, and Bali to find love. The latest from Gilbert, a novelist, journalist, and short-story writer, is a memoir called Eat, Pray, Love, released this week. Divided into 108 sections––the same number of beads in a mala (Indian rosary)––Gilbert first documents her visit to Italy, where she gained 23 pounds seeking the world’s best pizza. Then she’s off to an Indian ashram where she turns away from bodily pleasures to meditate on her squirming mind. Finally, it’s on to Indonesia, where she rides a bike, meets a healer, and satisfies the “love” part of her book’s title.

Lately there’s been a spate of coming-of-age books with an eastern spiritual bent; perhaps it’s a memoir sub-genre in the making. Here are two recent favorites:

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald
The Australian radio correspondent followed her boyfriend to India in her 20s, to find it was chaotic, smoggy, and vividly interesting. In addition to being a witty travelogue it’s also a guide through India’s myriad spiritual traditions including Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Islam.
My Life in Orange: Growing up with the Guru by Tim Guest
A devastating and compelling story of growing up under the controlling auspices of Rajneesh, or Osho and his devotees. In addition to being a touching memoir, it’s also a fascinating look inside a group that began with principles of unconditional love and freedom and ended with machine guns and megalomania.