Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It Read Online Free PDF Page B

everything that was unfair about my infertility. It was as though I had come face-to-face with my insides.
    And then, as if I had drawn strength from this dangerous, beautiful water, I forced my tired legs to work again, with a renewed sense of power. As we made our way back, I remembered what Mount Everest climbers know, that the return journey is the hardest part.
    We stopped at a hot spring, where we stripped down to our swimsuits and soaked in a Jacuzzi-like pool. My husband put his arm around me while a gentle waterfall ran over us, as if we were on a romantic vacation instead of in the middle of a grueling physical endeavor. It felt so good, but if we stayed too long our muscles would loosen up too much, so we dried off as best we could with our sweaty clothes and continued on. Now the adrenaline that had propelled me to the lake began to wear off. As we scrambled up and out of the Valley of Desolation, exhaustion began to set in. Brother told me, Every step you take brings you closer. I repeated the phrase like a mantra as I slowly made my way back up the mountain. I had to carry on, I told myself. This was one time when I had control. Finally, I made it to the top.
    Now there was just the final descent. I let my walking stick bear my weight with every step down, my legs turning to jelly. When we reached Breakfast River, Brother pulled out a concoction from his pack and rubbed it on my tired muscles. He told me that once, a hiker sprained her ankle and he had to carry her on his back for the whole return trek. Determined not to let that happen to me, I mustered the strength to finish the last part of the hike.
    Squeals of delight reached my ears. Local people were swimming in the gorge below. When I reached the pool of Titou Gorge, I tore off my clothes again and plunged into the cool, crystalline water. At the far side of the pool, an opening in the rock led to the gorge. I swam into it alone. Above me, sheer walls of slippery stone wound toward a small, powerful waterfall. The water was clear and deep. I floated on my back and stared up through the trees, the current from the waterfall propelling me back out of the gorge. A sense of calm and peace came over me.
    And although the next day I could barely walk, the feeling was still there. I’d done it. I’d made my body accomplish something.

Shift Happens
    â€”
    Emily Shaules
    H ave you ever picked up a book and felt like it was written just for you? How about one that literally saved your life?
    My health problems began during my senior year in college. What started as terrible stomach pain led to surgery to remove my gallbladder. When that didn’t alleviate my symptoms, I was sent for test after test. Finally, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel disease. I went back for my last semester armed with a bunch of drugs, pleased that I’d lost those last fifteen pounds, thanks to not being able to eat solid foods over the break. Law school flew by, and the meds kept my problems in check. I met a wonderful man and fell in love. We were seemingly perfect together—same upper-middle-class background, same interests, same sense of humor. There was this pesky detail of him wanting to be a father more than anything in the world,and me really not wanting kids, but I was sure that would work itself out.
    A week after graduating from law school, I felt a snap in my neck like whiplash while my boyfriend and I were making love. I was told in the emergency room that I had pulled a muscle and would be better in a few days. Only I wasn’t. The pain increased and gradually spread throughout my entire body. Within months, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and told I would be in pain for the rest of my life. I was twenty-five.
    I refused to let my illnesses slow me down. I took the bar exam in a neck brace, with a bottle of Vicodin by my side. I passed on my first try, and started practicing. My boyfriend and I got married and adopted the