Miss A Columnist

Andrea Rodgers is the Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of Miss A. She is a renowned marketer, entrepreneur and philanthropist actively involved in the Washington, D.C. community. Andrea Rodgers founded three fundraising events: Blondes vs. Brunettes for the Alzheimer’s Association, The Courage Cup polo fundraiser -- now Courage for Kids benefiting at-risk youth and Fashion for Paws for the Washington Humane Society. Andrea also runs the Courage for Kids charity, which helps at-risk children in the Washington, D.C. area. Andrea has a foundation in IT having worked for five years in Public Sector sales management for the software developer, Peoplesoft. In addition, Andrea has been involved in public relations and marketing for a decade. She has been featured on CNN and Fox News, in a national advertising campaign for SK-II luxury skincare in national fashion magazines, served as blogger for Ann Taylor, curated a Blogger Boutique for Lafayette 148 NY, partnered with Teri Jon, and has been interviewed by major newspapers and television networks across the world including USA Today, Washington Times, Washington Post, TV Tokyo and TV France. Rodgers was named a Top 10 Social Leader in Washington, D.C. by Politico and to Washington Life’s The Young & The Guest List as an influential Washingtonian under 40 years old. Andrea Rodgers owns Miss A Marketing, a consulting business, and is a member of Vogue magazine’s Vogue 100, an exclusive group of 100 influential decision makers and opinion leaders across the country. Andrea Rodgers holds two bachelor’s degrees from Wake Forest University in economics and politics.

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Eat Pray Love By Elizabeth Gilbert

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July 2nd, 2010 Leave a comment

If you haven’t read Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, I highly recommend you read it before you see the movie version starring Julia Roberts which comes out on August 13th! It’s about a woman finding herself after divorce and break up with a boyfriend. An Indonesian medicine man told her she would live in Indonesia for four months, and she has always wanted to learn Italian as it’s such a beautiful language. Her ex-boyfriend got her into yoga and introduced her to an Indian guru. So she decides to study her own nature and find balance by experiencing what three cultures seem to “do best”. She first heads to Italy to surround herself with pleasure, then travels to India where she spends time in her guru’s ashram, then she heads to Bali, Indonesia to find balance.

I liked the organization of her book, and thought it was very effective and an interesting concept. It was organized into three sections with 36 parts each which totals to 108. This is a special number as the japa malas, a stand of beads that Yogis use as they meditate has 108 beads. This is what inspired early Catholics to begin using a rosary. I won’t give away any of the plot, but it’s a great book. It was easy to get into, but it got a tad boring for me during Elizabeth’s time in India.

I’ve got to say, I found Cathy Alter’s memoir, Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over about coping after her divorce and trouble with men to be a much better read, and much harder to put down. I felt Cathy’s book seemed more real. She may not have traveled to three different countries, but she followed the advice of magazines for 12 months!Elizabeth’s book seems like a novel about a memoir. That said, there are a lot of really poignant thoughts in the book.

I also would put Kerry Reichs’ novels — The Best Day of Someone Else’s Life
and  Leaving Unknown: A Novel — ahead of this one on your summer reading list.

- Miss A

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