Elizabeth Girlbert

Birthday

Jul 18, 1969

Elizabeth was born in Waterbury, Connecticut USA.
She has a sister who is also a novelist her name is Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
Her mother is a house wife and her father a chemical engineer.
Her family did not own television or a record player so Liz and her sister entertained themselves by writing books and plays.

Education and Work

1991

After Elizabeth worked as a cook, bartender, waitress, and a magazine employee, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from New York University,

First Book

1993

Elizabeth's first book was a short story called "Pilgrims". She published this book and realized that she loved writing. which gave her inspiration to keep writing and documenting her life.

First Marriage

May 20, 1994

Liz got married to Micheal Cooper whom she met while she was working at Coyote Ugly Saloon, which is a bar. Their marriage lasted 12 years until Elizabeth broke it off in 2002.

Meeting God

Nov 2, 2001

In a tragic experience, Elizabeth found herself sobbing in her bathroom with a knife in her hand, when a voice came to her that said "Go back to bed, Liz". She describes her God as someone who is here to help. She believes in this God in a different way then others which makes her very unique.

The Medicine Man

Jun 25, 2002

Between getting a divorce, Liz got an opportunity to get paid to go to Bali to write a story about Yoga vacations. When she was there she met a Balinese medicine man who convinced Elizabeth to go to Italy, India and Indonesia to find herself. This moment was very important for her.

David

Jan 25, 2003

Elizabeth met her short lover when she was going through her divorce with Michael. She did love him but had to forget him when she moved away to Italy to start off fresh, she still thought of him while she was in Italy though.

Italy

Aug 13, 2003

Elizabeth moved to Italy all alone with no plan or map for 4 months. She free hands it and meets a whole bunch of new friends, learns Italian and tries some of the best food in Italy.

India

Jan 1, 2004

Elizabeth finally goes to India to enhance her knowledge of god and let him into her mind and soul. She lives for 6 months here practicing mediation and chants.

Richard from Texas

Jan 20, 2004

Richard was a guy Liz met in India. He taught her many things, to be less controlling, get over David finally and to let go of all her struggles so she can have a good experience in India. He was definitely a character that made a big impact on her life.

Meditation

Mar 17, 2004

Liz found it very difficult in her first few months living in India to meditate. She couldn't still her mind until she got the motivation from her Guru and with the help of her nephew Nick, to keep her focus clear and allowing her mind to be filled with God.

Tulsi

Mar 23, 2004

Tulsi, is a teenage Indian girl who came to the Ashrams to escape her forced marriage and horrible life. She is very similar to Liz, she wants to travel, not get married or have the responsibilities of a wife. Liz became very close friends with Tulsi.

ANTEVASIN

Apr 2, 2004

Back in Italy, Liz's friend, Giulio was talking to her about how everyone has their own word, one that describes them perfectly, but Elizabeth couldn't figure hers out... until she got to India. She found her word in a library one day and it was ANTEVASIN which means "one who lives at the border." This part was very important to Liz because she's really finding herself which was basically the reason she traveled to these three places.

Indonesia

May 17, 2004

When Liz first arrives in Bali, she is told that she is only legally allowed to be in Bali for one month, which completely changes her plans because she was supposed to stay for 3 months. So she goes on a search to find the medicine man who was the one who told her to come back to Bali and live with him for 3 months.

Medicine Man

Jul 30, 2004

Liz finds Ketut (the medicine man) and he first doesn't remember her. But she explains her past visit to him and he remembers, he said she's changed a lot. She used to be sad and lonely but now her aura is happy and confident. She agreed to teach him English and he agree to teach her the way of life.

Felipe

Nov 20, 2004

Liz met Felipe in Indonesia, she fell in love with him from the very start, she spend many nights with him and grown to love him entirely, she married him in 2007 but broke it off in 2016. (She changed everyone's names in the book from real life to keep their lives unknown // his real name is Jose)