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Elaine, YOU WIN!!! But before we tell you WHY you won, I think you should stop to do The Traditional Tribal Dance of The Victorious:
So now that you’re all loosened up, that a gander at why author, Carolyn Vines, chose you:
I chose her because she made a concrete action plan. It was very specific and measurable, which makes it more likely that she’ll follow through. What really impressed me what she wrote. I’ve found that the key to having the most positive overseas experience whether you’re there on vacation or permanently is to change your mindset. She wrote:
“I don’t want to go abroad again with the same attitude as before. I’m definitely a lot more open and friendly than I was then. I’m just going to be my charming, bubbly, and quirky self, and regardless of what happens, I’m going to enjoy my time there. “
ELAINE: send me your address and stuff via email at info@beyondblackwhite.com and I’ll pass it along to Caroline so she can send you an autographed copy.
That is the essence of my memoir. Also, for the ladies who entered and didn’t win a book, if you direct them to my website/email address and have them leave a comment that they entered the contest, I will send them, via email, the first chapter. (You hear that…EVERYBODY WINS!)
Yay! I finished reading "Black and (A)broad", and I'm filled with so many different emotions right now. First, I must say that Mrs. Carolyn Vines is a very strong lady, and it shows through this memoir. Before reading the book, I thought it was simply about a black woman who becomes an expat in the Netherlands and has quirky adventures, but it was much more than that. There were so many topics that were addressed in this block including: the black community's definition of being black, the field slave vs house slave mentality, the joys and perils of motherhood, career woman vs SAHM/WAHM, mental health issues, and etc. I mean I really wish I could hold a book club discussion for this book, because I have so many things I would like to talk about (and I don't want to give away too much here). The book had me hook from page 1, and I could not put it down. I laughed, cried, and got upset as she gave such candid details from her childhood and onward. It was even more amazing for me, because it seemed my life paralleled hers in many ways, especially having a love for languages and being enamored with the world of Academia.
Gosh, I wish I could go more into detail, but I will say that you guys have to read this book. I believe many of you, if not all, can really identify with her story, and, hopefully, it will spawn more in depth conversations. I believe too many of our black women, who go through so much, suffer in silence because we supposed to be "strong, independent women". Luckily for me, I didn't grow up hearing such things, but now I understand why my black women friends felt a little reluctant to being open and honest about struggling with certain issues, while they cringed as I openly discussed mine without caring who heard lol.
I think I will leave this "review" at that, because I'm getting to a point where I want to give everything away lol. I will just say that this memoir has truly been inspiring, and now I have no doubt that I *need* to go abroad again, but with a different mindset.
Thank you so much, again, Carolyn Vines, for the memoir as I throughly enjoyed it (plus it led me to read Cecilia Valdes by Villaverde), and thank you Christelyn for having such an awesome contest!
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