The background of the book is based on the author’s own forced marriage with her Australian beau. The author has backed the book with extensive research on the institution of marriage and several interviews to analyze this old and ‘stubborn’ institution.
Committed: A Love Story is also a reflection of the author’s personal views on the subject, laced with her intelligence and characterized with her witty and compassionate style. The author, in the book, has dealt with fidelity, infatuation, tradition, compatibility, social expectations and family traditions. The book celebrates love, but also stresses on the attachments and the consequences of the ties of love in the practical world. The author very boldly expresses the opinion that same-sex couples are more passionate about married life.
The book begins when at the end of her book, Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert meets an Australian man of Brazilian origin in Indonesia and falls in love. While they wanted to settle in America and be loyal to each other for life, neither of them wanted to get married as they had both had previous marriages that did not go well. However, a few days later, the US Government intervened in this arrangement and forced the couple to get married, threatening to deport Felipe, her boyfriend, if they didn’t. Appalled by the decision of the American government, the couple get married. The author decides to eliminate her fear of this age old institution by delving into the intricacies of the same.
The author believes that it is not the state that invented the concept of marriages in the first place, but in fact, individuals and their families, seeking to create a special intimate bond that is respected by all in their society. The author has written most of it as an account of her perceptions of marriage and her expectations of the institution.