Elizabeth Gilbert was born and raised in Waterbury, close to the Naugatuck River, in Connecticut. She and her sister – also a writer – did not have access to TV as children which meant they read and wrote a great deal. She attended New York University as a young woman, obtaining a degree in political science. She then went on to have a career as a journalist writing for such publications as Esquire magazine, GQ and the New York Times Magazine. She supplemented her income as a freelance writer working as a bartender, notably in Coyote Ugly in New York City. Her articles about that work were later adapted into a feature film of 2000.