EPISODE · Sep 10, 2025 · 1H 2M
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Untold Story of Love and Addiction
from The Midlife Chrysalis · host Chip Conley
How do you survive when the person you can’t live without begins to destroy you?In this powerful episode of Midlife Chrysalis, Elizabeth Gilbert joins Chip Conley to share the raw story behind her new memoir, All the Way to the River. She opens up about walking alongside her partner through addiction and relapse, confronting her own patterns of codependency, and finding healing through recovery and surrender. It’s an honest, unfiltered look at love, loss, and what it really takes to stand on your own two feet.Tune in now to hear Elizabeth Gilbert as you’ve never heard her before. Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:40 Introduction to Elizabeth Gilbert03:06 All the Way to the River book06:06 Why it took 7 years to write07:21 A forensic look at repeating patterns10:36 Love vs. addiction in relationships13:49 How Liz met Raya & their evolving bond19:55 Confessing love during Raya’s illness25:31 Grief, loss, and missing her friend27:18 Writing in solitude & surrendering to truth35:00 Surrender, recovery, and true powerlessness41:21 Dark thoughts & God’s voice45:15 What sex & love addiction means for Liz51:36 12-step practices & six years of abstinence54:35 Reflections on MEA and retreat power58:22 Wisdom bumper stickerLearn more about MEA at https://www.meawisdom.com/#MidlifeChrysalis #ElizabethGilbert #AllTheWayToTheRiver #GriefJourney #AddictionRecovery #LoveAndLoss #Codependency #HealingFromTrauma #12StepRecovery #SexAndLoveAddiction #SpiritualGrowth #MemoirWriting #MidlifeWisdom #EmotionalSobriety #LifeLessons
What this episode covers
How do you survive when the person you can’t live without begins to destroy you?In this powerful episode of Midlife Chrysalis, Elizabeth Gilbert joins Chip Conley to share the raw story behind her new memoir, All the Way to the River. She opens up about walking alongside her partner through addiction and relapse, confronting her own patterns of codependency, and finding healing through recovery and surrender. It’s an honest, unfiltered look at love, loss, and what it really takes to stand on your own two feet.Tune in now to hear Elizabeth Gilbert as you’ve never heard her before. Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:40 Introduction to Elizabeth Gilbert03:06 All the Way to the River book06:06 Why it took 7 years to write07:21 A forensic look at repeating patterns10:36 Love vs. addiction in relationships13:49 How Liz met Raya & their evolving bond19:55 Confessing love during Raya’s illness25:31 Grief, loss, and missing her friend27:18 Writing in solitude & surrendering to truth35:00 Surrender, recovery, and true powerlessness41:21 Dark thoughts & God’s voice45:15 What sex & love addiction means for Liz51:36 12-step practices & six years of abstinence54:35 Reflections on MEA and retreat power58:22 Wisdom bumper stickerLearn more about MEA at https://www.meawisdom.com/#MidlifeChrysalis #ElizabethGilbert #AllTheWayToTheRiver #GriefJourney #AddictionRecovery #LoveAndLoss #Codependency #HealingFromTrauma #12StepRecovery #SexAndLoveAddiction #SpiritualGrowth #MemoirWriting #MidlifeWisdom #EmotionalSobriety #LifeLessons
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s Untold Story of Love and Addiction
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