On the Radio: "Black and (A)Broad"

Carolyn Vines is - among other things - an editor and avid blogger. When she first approached publishers with her idea of writing a book about being black in Europe, she was encouraged to write a kind of travel guide for black women. As she got deeper into her project, however, Carolyn realized that what she needed to write was something much more personal. Instead of a black women's version of "If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium", her resulting book, Black and (A)Broad (Subtitled "Traveling beyond the limitations of identity"), became a memoir with an intensely personal message without losing an iota of its universal appeal. Carolyn tells us about what triggered her decision to move to Europe, as well as the - both internal and external - hurdles she had to take to make that decision. She also talks candidly about her experiences as a Black American abroad, and how that change in perspective gave her unexpected insight into her own identity. Most compelling about Carolyn's story is its ordinariness. She's an "every woman" who also happens to be black. Despite ist universal character, Carolyn hopes her book will inspire especially black women to venture out beyond the immediate circumstances of their biology, nationality and socio-economic circumstances. Because - as Carolyn's own life has shown - there is a wealth of beauty and possibilities available to us all, if we only have the courage and faith to pursue them!