Nearly 30 years after penning the first travel guide by and for African American women, author Elaine Lee is back with the launch of Go Girl 2: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure.
With the second edition of her barrier-breaking travel guide, Lee furthers her legacy as a travel literature pioneer with a new compelling collection of fifty-four travel stories, poems, and photographs, crafted to inspire, educate, and entertain Black women globetrotters. Readers get to join in on thrilling adventures from the icy Arctic to the sun-soaked Caribbean and uncover cultural treasures across Africa, Australia, the Americas, and Asia.
Featuring captivating stories by Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Jill Nelson, Linda Villarosa, Faith Adiele, and Evelyn White, along with other beloved favorites, Go Girl 2 also includes republished pieces from the original Go Girl. Explore stories from a new generation of travel writers, featuring experts like Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Lebawit Lily Girma, Georgina Lawton, Martinique Lewis, Rue Mapp, and Noo Saro-Wiwa.
“I was inspired to create Go Girl 2 because there was a need for a forum to showcase the voices of the modern-day Black woman traveler and travel journalists,” Lee told BLACK ENTERPRISE
.“There has not been another Black woman’s travel anthology published since my first one in 1997 and it was high time to have an updated and more expansive version.”
“Go Girl 2 delves into the challenges Black women face with racism while traveling, overcoming fears, and asserting their rights. It also provides practical advice on everything from packing to solo travel safety, making it the ultimate guide for modern Black women on the move.”
“Go Girl One was the first Black travel book published after Victor Green’s Green Book, which stopped publishing in the 60s. It was a pioneering work that opened the door for dozens of other black travel books to follow,” Lee shared.
“Go Girl 2 is following in that groundbreaking tradition by ushering in a new era of travel media mavens and an exploration into the new Black travel movement.”
An editor and freelance writer, Lee’s work showcases specialty storytelling that highlights the rich, diverse experiences
of Black women travelers. With two travel guides under her belt, she invites readers on a journey that is both personal and universal, providing insights into the joys, challenges, and transformative power of travel.“It is astounding to see the number of Black women’s travel blogs, groups, books, websites, Facebook pages, and influencers that have mushroomed in the past few years,” Lee says about the progression of Black women globetrotters since the release of Go Girl One.
“When I took my solo first trip around the world in 1992, I had never met a Black woman who had accomplished such a feat, and it’s part of what inspired me to create my first RTW travel book for Black women. I didn’t want other curious Black women travelers to have the same fear/terror that I had when embarking on my first trip and I also wanted them to know how glorious, safe, and fun it is to circumnavigate Mother Earth.”
Lee’s travel guide and anthology serve as a beacon, guiding future explorers and storytellers to unleash their inner wanderlust. An avid enthusiast for her work, Lee gushed about the types of inspirational travel stories readers will enjoy.
“Stories range from ‘Belonging’ a vivid exploration of the experience of visiting a majority Black country for the first time, and ‘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,” she shared.
“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 quiet meditation on how the beauty of the country stirred her imagination. Opal Palmer Adisa evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas of urban Ghana where she traveled to meet her lifelong pen pal.”
And then there’s her favorite story in the book, which tells the story of a couple who vacationed after struggling with infertility and experienced a miraculous shift.
“It’s about a couple who used their frequent flier miles to visit Gambia on vacation to recover from the wife’s long-term and exhausting fertility challenges,” Lee said. “In the course of their journey, they happened upon a fertility ritual that ultimately resulted in them having twins.”
Go Girl 2: The Black Woman’s Book of Travel and Adventure is available for purchase on Amazon or at www.ugogurl.com.
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