Elizabeth Gilbert: "All the Way to the River" | Oprah's Book Club

The Oprah Podcast

Harpo

Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks features coffee and conversation with one of the most beloved writers of our time, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert, in a café in Starbucks’ hometown Seattle. Her vulnerable new memoir, All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation, is Oprah’s 118th book club selection. The book details Elizabeth’s raw and riveting story of falling in love with her partner Rayya, navigating harrowing struggles and finding a path to healing in the years that followed Rayya's passing. Liz shares what was really going on in her life during the time Eat, Pray, Love was released, including her own journey with sex and love addiction, shocking stories about what happened after Rayya was diagnosed with cancer and Liz's personal surrender to recovery. Oprah describes her story as "the bravest thing I've ever seen." For this conversation, Oprah and Elizabeth are joined by an audience of readers as they enjoy the Fall favorite, Pumpkin Spice Latte. BUY THE BOOK! "All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation” by Elizabeth Gilbert, is published by Riverhead Books and available wherever books are sold: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707805/all-the-way-to-the-river-by-elizabeth-gilbert/ HERE I AM The footage featured in Oprah’s podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert comes from the feature-length documentary, Here I Am, directed by award-winning filmmaker, Marc J. Francis https://www.marcjfrancis.com and produced by Speakit Productions https://www.speakit.org. Here I Am is a deeply intimate portrait of Elizabeth and her partner Rayya Elias who opened their world to Marc, inviting him to witness and document their final year together. From the soaring highs of love, laughter and creativity to the devastating lows of illness, addiction, and grief, their story is a powerful meditation on what it means to love, live and let go. The film will be released internationally in 2026. For updates and behind-the-scenes insights about the film, subscribe at https://www.marcjfrancis.com/here-i-am Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@Oprah?sub_confirmation=1 Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social: Instagram Facebook TikTok Listen to the full podcast: Spotify Apple Podcasts #oprahsbookclub Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everybody, Elizabeth Gilbert!
0:04.0	D. Elizabeth Gilbert!
0:08.0	Hello!
0:10.0	Did y'all believe this book?
0:12.0	Whoa, huh? Wow.
0:14.0	I said, Elizabeth, honey, child.
0:18.0	What's you been doing in there?
0:33.3	Hi, it is my delight and pleasure to be with you here on Oprah's Book Club, presented by Starbucks.
0:39.4	And we are at the Starbucks Cafe inside their iconic headquarters here in Seattle.
0:51.1	We're actually just a few miles from the original Pike Place store where it all started.
0:56.9	And I think your neighborhood Starbucks is a great place to enjoy a good book, good coffee, and good company.
1:02.6	And each month, Starbucks pairs one of their crafted drinks with my book club pick.
1:04.5	So listen to this since it's fall.
1:06.1	No surprise here. My September book pairing is pumpkin spice latte.
1:20.6	The legendary PSL is for this month, as it's known.
1:22.6	It is the taste of fall.
1:24.1	Don't you all, isn't it?
1:27.6	Falls officially here when pumpkin spice latte is released with real
1:29.5	pumpkin, steamed milk, and
1:31.2	Starbucks signature espresso.
1:33.3	It's delicious whether you
1:35.0	enjoy it hot, iced, or
	...

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