I Was The Only Black Person At Elizabeth Gilbert And Cheryl Strayed’s ‘brave Magic’ Retreat

HappilyLiberal said:

She grew up in an all white environment, raised her children in an all white environment, and chose to go to a conference sponsored by white women... what did she expect? She could have changed her trajectory--and that of her children--years ago with very little effort.

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nysister said:

Did she really just end it like this?



No offense but this was as vapid and pseudo self-reflecting as Eat, Pray, Love. Which was sophomoric and flavorless as it comes. I rolled my eyes so many times reading that book, and I don't normally roll my eyes.

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And the ease with which you can do it, because you know where your rent is coming from, allows her to easily go off and Eat, Pray, Love which is something that isn't practical for most bp who have a different financial lifestyle. I remember reading about BP who are middle class, their next generation is a step away from or fall back into the poor category (which is because we don't have generations of privilege, access, and financial help). And of course I can't hate on the story but it wasn't realistic for an every day experience nor did I think that someone in that position could realistically learn something so profound from such an inauthentic experience that exploited the experiences and wisdom of other cultures. I'm assuming there were some wise sages in there from other cultures because that usually happens and then they go back to their lives never to think of them again or to only use them in commentary to make their lives interesting. ​

luckiestdestiny said:

When I heard the synopsis, I refused to read the book. And the movie came out with the trailer to confirm my suspicions . I knew a part of me would die inside reading that book or seeing that film and I wanted to keep my soul intact so I said, "No thank you." to eat pray love . It seemed like the ultimate ww/feminist story as they wander and mooch on other cultures to "fill" the void inside, coming back with an epiphany.

From what I remember, the writer herself, in an interview said that an editor cut her a check and off she went. I was like (blink) what? How many people can just call up an editor, present an idea, get a six figure check and go eat pray love, having it on someone else's dime and then spin it into a book which of course becomes a phenomenon because ww love to do stuff like that? Getting someone to do that means you have to have connections, that usually comes from access and mostly white privilege (with some exceptions).

And the ease with which you can do it, because you know where your rent is coming from, allows her to easily go off and Eat, Pray, Love which is something that isn't practical for most bp who have a different financial lifestyle. I remember reading about BP who are middle class, their next generation is a step away from or fall back into the poor category (which is because we don't have generations of privilege, access, and financial help). And of course I can't hate on the story but it wasn't realistic for an every day experience nor did I think that someone in that position could realistically learn something so profound from such an inauthentic experience that exploited the experiences and wisdom of other cultures. I'm assuming there were some wise sages in there from other cultures because that usually happens and then they go back to their lives never to think of them again or to only use them in commentary to make their lives interesting. ​

I know in grad school (before I switched programs because part of my focus was on human rights, still was when I switched but through a custom program at Gallatin at NYU so I could get away from the insufferable ppl there), there was a pretentious group that kept talking about doing "the work" and they'd travel to other countries and take pictures to "witness" their pain. I mean they had pics smiling with poor people in these countries and I'm like, how are you telling this story and the professors are nodding like, Yeah! Like how are you contributing by doing this? It's like they were at a zoo of people or something. Sorry, I went a little off there, but these kind of people are the types that write and read Eat, Pray, Love. Oh and they bring back art mementos created by the people in such places and put them in their hair as conversational pieces . And they spout pseudo wisdom.

I want to write a book about these types .

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But guess what? While she's considering them, thepeople that she reads don't see her or consider her.And now she's screaming into the void

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luckiestdestiny said:

I feel like someone like this, she wants to pat herself on the back for being "diverse". See she doesn't "consider" others or their race when she reads their books. She doesn't see color. Kumbaya and all that. That's fine and dandy if it were true, but I'm thinking this type of person uses it as superiority. It makes them feel good about themselves that they're one of the only ones doing X,Y,Z and thinking outside of the box unlike the other lost negroes out there. While she's reaching out, and patting herself on the back for reaching out (kinda like Kanye cheering himself on for being one of the very few black people wearing Trump) she's lost the point. Sure she's considering the majority's viewpoint and breaking free of doing what other black people are doing (black writers).

But guess what? While she's considering them, the people that she reads don't see her or consider her. And now she's screaming into the void instead of knowing that and going for whatever reason (fulfillment, etc) while trying to understand why others may not be interested in an event that is already clearly geared and marketed to and frankly only has white women writers as the "leaders" of the event.

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Chrismiss said:

This reminds me of a dilemma I'm seeing in a black planner group I follow on fb. They are chomping at the bit to go to a predominantly white planner groups conference, while the same black planner group just had their own conference this past weekend. In fact, while the black planner group's conference was in progress, people were steady posting in the fb group about the other planner group's conference. It seemed super coonish to me, as does this.

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Sonnshine said:

Hi @Chrismiss

I know this is a bit off topic, but would you please share the name of the black planner group you follow on fb?
A planner conference sounds right up my street

Thanks v much
Sonnshine

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Chrismiss said:

It's called Black Women Who Plan and Create. They also have a website: bwwpc. com

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FemmeCreole said:

What an annoying article and equally annoying woman. She's pseudo complaining. She actually likes being the token special negress. Chile please.

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