Go Girl 2: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure
(Expanded, revised, and updated edition).
Go Girl 2 weaves a remarkable collection of fifty-four travel tales, poems, and photos designed to inspire, educate, and entertain black women globetrotters, as well as provide vicarious thrills for the avid armchair traveler. Dive into stories by a new generation of travel writers, including luminaries Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Lebawit Lily Girma, Martinque Lewis, Rue Mapp, and Noo Saro-Wiwa, on spicy adventures in the frozen Arctic to sun-drenched blue Caribbean, to the discovery of cultural treasures in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and Asia, Compelling stories by Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Jill Nelson, Linda Villarosa, Faith Adiele, and Evelyn White, along with other crowd favorites, have been republished from the original Go Girl. The book also includes a handy resource section and planning guide.
Go Girl 2 explores the issue of black women dealing with racism while traveling, overcoming fears, and claiming entitlement. Sprinkled throughout is useful sister-to-sister advice on everything from packing, traveling inexpensively, staying safe and healthy on the road, choosing a destination, to traveling solo, making Go Girl 2 the go-to guide for sisters on the go in the 21st century.
Elaine has mastered the art of travel and spreading its gospel like few I’ve met. She skis, cycles, hikes, dances, and dives her way across the globe, and wherever she goes, her fearlessness and joie de vivre light the way.
Section 1: “Back to Africa” features stories of travel to the motherland. Visiting Africa is a travel experience like no other for us, the children of the diaspora. Many of us do not know how deep our African roots are until we return “home” and witness the many commonalities of food, culture, dress, sensibility, and temperament. It is often said (and I agree), “It is when you go to Africa that you get part of your soul back that you didn’t even know was missing.”
Section 2: “Sistren Travel the Diaspora” gathers stories of travel to the places our ancestors were taken as slaves in the Western Hemisphere. The first part covers the Caribbean, South America, and Central America, and the second part covers traveling in the United States.
Section 3: “Trippin’ All over the World” showcases stories of black women traveling the world over, from India to Indonesia to Italy, to name a few. These traveling sisters testify to the myriad destinations, styles of travel, and opportunities for adventure available to us as black women.
Section 4: “The Genesis of My Traveling Spirit” includes stories in which the sistren share their motivation for travel, their philosophy of travel, as well as travel strategies. It also includes a story about how to create and sustain a solo trip around the world (yes, you can do it!).
The resource section lists afrocentric books, travel clubs, professional organizations, and other useful travel information.
Go Girl 2! is not just a collection of stories. It’s a rich and soulful potpourri of wanderlust tales from 52 sisters whose global journeys defy the confines of traditional “vacation travel.” Their experiences instead boldly declare and embrace travel as a fundamental way of living and being – a “must have” as essential to our bodies and spirits as water and air.
Stories range from “Belonging” a vivid exploration of the experience of visiting a majority black country for the first time, “Going to Ghana,” the story of a mother and daughter who travel to Africa to participate in sacred rites in a Ghanaian village; and “A Homegirl Hits Beijing,” a jaunty account of studying Mandarin and learning about oneself.
Maya Angelou tells the story of arriving in Africa a stranger but leaving claimed as a member of the Bambara tribe. Evelyn C. White writes about finding new pride in being black after visiting Egypt. Alice Walker offers a quite meditation on how the beauty of the country stirred her imagination. Opal Palmer Adisa evokes the sights, sound, and aromas of urban Ghana where she traveled to meet her lifelong pen pal.
Whether you are traveling for escape and relaxation (“Sailing My Fantasy”), on a spiritual quest (“Red Dirt on My Feet”), in search of a mind-expanding, life-changing experience (“The Kindness of Strangers”), as a “going home,” finding one’s roots (“My First Ancestral Journey”), to find relief from racism (“Why Paris?”), to celebrate black culture (“In Search of Black Peru”), to honor black history (“The Year of Return”), to reach for understanding across cultural barriers, (“Australia Day: Celebrating Black Pride Down Under”), to help others (“An Undeferred Dream”), or to open up new possibilities in one’s own life (“Kachikally, Gambia: The Miracle Journey”), the travel experiences chronicled in Go Girl! will delight, enlighten, and inspire.
You can get an autographed copy of the book from Ugogurl Productions Publishing and editor Elaine Lee. All you need to do is send $20.00 plus $5.00 for shipping to:
Elaine Lee
Ugogurl Productions
2340 Powell Street, Suite 160,
Emeryville, CA 94608
and I will promptly send you an autographed copy.
Also a copy of the book can be ordered via Amazon.com.
Go Girl 2! is not just a collection of stories. It’s a rich and soulful potpourri of wanderlust tales from 52 sisters whose global journeys defy the confines of traditional “vacation travel.” Their experiences instead boldly declare and embrace travel as a fundamental way of living and being – a “must have” as essential to our bodies and spirits as water and air.
Lysa Allman-Baldwin – Keynote Speaker, Leadership Strategist, and Author.
Elaine has mastered the art of travel and spreading its gospel like few I’ve met. She skis, cycles, hikes, dances, and dives her way across the globe, and wherever she goes, her fearlessness and joie de vivre light the way.
Carol Canter, Travel Journalist
"First there was the Green Book, then there was Go Girl, the first black travel guide of the modern era. Elaine Lee is a legend who continues to inspire. The New Black Travel Movement owes everything to her and her work. "
Details
Title: Go Girl 2: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure
Editor: Elaine Lee
Publisher: Ugogurl Productions
Genre: Travel
ISBN (paperback): _____________
Publication Date (all formats):
Pages: ______
Size: 6″ x 8.9″
INFO about 1st Edition
Since Go Girl: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure made its debut onto the planet, I am pleased to report the following milestones:- The sale of over 7,000 books.
- The book was named one of Oprahs “Favorite Travel Books.”
- The book was in the recommended reading columns of Essence, Emerge, Black Enterprise, Upscale, Maiden Voyages, NetNoir, Ms., Transitions Abroad and Quarterly Black Review of Books. The book received over 40 rave reviews in newspapers around the country.
- Successful book events in: Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, New Orleans, Bay Area, WDC, NYC, Philadelphia, Detroit/Flint, Michigan, Chicago, Los Angeles and Paris, France.
- The book was featured on national television programs, such as Travel Daily/Travel Channel and Moneywise/PBS series, national radio programs such as Savvy Traveler and Bev Smith’ Urban Report and local San Francisco travel shows, such as Bay Area Backroads, where I appeared as a featured guest/travel expert.
