Roberts, who played author Elizabeth Gilbert in the movie adaptation, says she could not connect to the writer's decision to take a year-long break to find herself after a acrimonious divorce.
The 42-year-old actress is married and has twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, five, and three-year-old Henry with second husband Danny Moder, Contactmusic reported.
"I think we all go through phases of hardship. Hers is much bigger and broader - it's really more of a crisis in her life. We all go through some variation of that, whether we interpret it as a bad weekend or a bad moment in life.
"I come from the 'Pick yourself up, dust yourself off' attitude, but I had empathy for what she was going through and how she decided to go about solving it."
Roberts travelled with her children to Italy, India and Bali while shooting the film and the star insists she didn't find it difficult moving her family around the world.
"I can organise three kids. The director Ryan Murphy and his team had to organise an entire production and a lot of gear and lights. It's a lot easier doing what I did," Roberts told Empire magazine.
Published 03 September 2010, 09:12 IST