Gilbert is the author, and the majority of the book centers around her and her experiences.

Jack Gilbert is the first character to appear in the book. He is an elusive poet who urges his students to be brave and make the life that they want to live.

Susan’s story is told in part one, where Gilbert uses Susan’s rediscovery of ice skating as an example of what it means to live creatively.

Felipe is Gilbert‘s Brazilian sweetheart. He is a major contributor to the birth of the idea for Gilbert’s novel, Evelyn of the Amazon, and he is also a major factor in the story’s demise.

Ann Patchett is the author who received Gilbert’s idea for the story about the Amazon rainforest after the idea moved on from Gilbert.

Ruth Stone is a poet who says that entire poems pass through her, and she has to reach a pen and paper quickly to document them or she will lose them forever.

Carole Gilbert is Elizabeth Gilbert’s mother. Although she is mentioned throughout the book, her story, and how she impacted her daughter’s life appear in part 3.

Gilbert’s dad is mentioned early on in the book, his story, and how he impacted his daughter’s life appears in part 3.

Eileen is one of the characters to appear in part 3. She is covered in tattoos and talks about how she does not mind decorating her body with permanent ink as she is only alive for a short period and wishes to make the most out of it.

Werner Herzog is a well-known filmmaker who answered a letter sent to him by a friend of Gilbert. Herzog advises Gilbert’s friend to stop complaining and start working.

Tom Waits is a musician who talks with Gilbert about the difficulty of producing some ideas as opposed to others that take no work at all.

Winifred is a 90-year-old woman who pursued a new passion for ancient Mesopotamia during her 80s. Hers is a story of ageless curiosity.

The Indian man is an impoverished man whose prized possession was a bull. The man took the time to paint the bull's horns, and thus expressed his creativity.

Tristram Shandy is a fictional writer who dressed up in fine clothing to combat writer's block.

Marcus Aurelius appears in Part 3, and Gilbert uses his writings as a way to show that even great people had doubts and needed a little encouragement.

Lois Rosenthal is the editor-in-chief of the fiction journal, Story. She accepted one of Gilbert’s short stories two years after rejecting the very same one.

Richard Ford is a writer who advised a less successful writer to give up if the stress of being unsuccessful was too much to bear.

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a friend of Gilbert. In her university classroom, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer asks her students about their love for nature versus nature’s love for them.

Katie Arnold-Ratliff is a promising writer who spent years unable to write because she thought she was too comfortable in life to create anything good.

Brené Brown is an author who found it challenging to finish her books until she learned about the trickster energy and decided to use it to cheat the system.

Tony Freund worked for Esquire and was instrumental in publishing “Pilgrims,” Gilbert’s first published short story.

Clive James is a writer who suffered a big failure in his career that left him unable to write. After spending time painting bikes, James realized that he still loved writing and returned to the profession.

Little Brother is one of the last characters to appear in the book. He went to a costume party where he was dressed as a red lobster amongst everyone else who was in medieval court attire. Despite standing out, he ignored his fear and attended the party.