The Other Side of Sugar Beach-I read this and slept like a baby...so PROUD of Robtel!!!

http://www.liberiaseabreeze.com/archives/1464

Will read the review shortly.

On a personal note, I've been proud of Robtel for years now. When she first finished college she was an intern for me at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in Washington, DC. Our staff had finished making all intern selections and I asked them to run all the resumes by me one final time. That's when I came across this name "Pailey" and I immediately knew I was staring at the resume of a Liberian. I insisted that the staff open up an additional intern slot for this person and when she was hired, I learned that I knew her father. She was truly a brilliant young lady. Very proud of her!

thanks for posting this Krazzy because it is indeed a masterpiece. It is my hope that the thousands that have had the chance to reach Helen's book can read this and see both side of the story... Robtel is indeed one brillant lady.

yea, michael...she is brilliant times a hundred-PROFOUND intellect; and her humility amazes me!

yes, Flo. many have read the book and it leaves you with many emotions, including the 'muff full' or angry ones. she just 'broke the women's bathroom in the village'.

I can understand why many will be angry. You paint that sort of picture of Liberians to the world at large base on selfish reason i would say without giving a picture of the other side. Anyway good thing Robtel shed some light on it. I just hope her review get the same world wide exposure as Helen book did.

it will go far, Flo. we have been waiting for this. i think Helene told her story. Finished! However, considering the complex nature of our society and the external appreciation of the 'freed slaves' journey, we can also use our present knowledge and understanding to go beyond what Helene explained. there is a must to do that...to give voice to the silent majority that remained in the backroom of Helen's story! Robtel nailed it!

Good. I coming start posting that link in every network page i know. small small way to spread it as well...

Myslef was piss after reading just the summary and first few lines of that book and i aint read the full thing oh. hahaha. sound like your 10 years old saying 'this woman is selfish!".. smart pekin by the way to recognize that at his age

yes o...he said so many things that we are saying in our big people terms

Rushing to read it quick.

Have been wishing to read Helen's book but from what I've read from Robtel's I have the entire picture, she was quite selfish. What puzzles me is when she was stucked in that armored vehicle it when she realized she was from a country called LIBERIA. Didn't she get to hear the long suferrings we passed through before then????

Josie you shouldn't be so hard on Helene. We are all products of our culture and environment. Nonetheless, you should defintiely read her book.

Will read it TTTTTTTTT

Ok, so I just found some time to thoroughly read Robtel's well-written essay. I particularly loved her last sentence where she reminds us all of the supremacy of subjectivity and the fact that objectivity or neutrality is a "falsehood." The ONLY concern I had with the essay is that it seemed at points she was going to great lengths to almost punish Helene for being unable to transcend her own subjectivity. The reality is, Helene set out to write a book from her own perspective. We are ALL products of our own culture, our own enviroments, our own sense of historiography. The key to becoming more fully human is in accepting the limitations placed on us by our own subjective view of the world around us and yet bravely standing in front of the world naked and ready to own up to and confront our contradictions. I think that is exactly what Helene Cooper was trying to do. While Robtel Pailey does a wonderful job of summarizing Helene's book, she ends up trapped in her own subjectivity. I guess what I'm saying is that it would have been sufficient to note that the book is indeed one woman's personal memoir and not an attempt to fully explain and deconstruct all of the many histories that make up our society. Fact is, NO ONE can do that. We can each only tell our own personal stories, listen to and learn from the stories of others, and then try to birth some new joint reality.

Traveller wrote:

Ok, so I just found some time to thoroughly read Robtel's well-written essay. I particularly loved her last sentence where she reminds us all of the supremacy of subjectivity and the fact that objectivity or neutrality is a "falsehood." The ONLY concern I had with the essay is that it seemed at points she was going to great lengths to almost punish Helene for being unable to transcend her own subjectivity. The reality is, Helene set out to write a book from her own perspective. We are ALL products of our own culture, our own enviroments, our own sense of historiography. The key to becoming more fully human is in accepting the limitations placed on us by our own subjective view of the world around us and yet bravely standing in front of the world naked and ready to own up to and confront our contradictions. I think that is exactly what Helene Cooper was trying to do. While Robtel Pailey does a wonderful job of summarizing Helene's book, she ends up trapped in her own subjectivity. I guess what I'm saying is that it would have been sufficient to note that the book is indeed one woman's personal memoir and not an attempt to fully explain and deconstruct all of the many histories that make up our society. Fact is, NO ONE can do that. We can each only tell our own personal stories, listen to and learn from the stories of others, and then try to birth some new joint reality.

right on point T. People view things and situations very differently. What I don't get is all the backlash from her book (even though I have not read it yet) and why some are going out of their way to discredit her book. My peepo, this is a " memoir" NOT Liberian History…chay.

Liberian people can be to negative at times. Helene took the time to write about what was real to "her". If you don't like her book, why don't you go and write you own book and stop HATING

Speaking about Liberian History…I have read several books about the Liberian war and each author has had a totally different prospective.

I read the essay and found it exuded a great deal of intellect. I commented:

"Your essay provokes probing deeper, perceiving with greater cognitive
acumen and responding more empathathetically to the issues that that
weave us all together in the tapestry of our kindrednes/"

Your point is a very good one Traveller. one I almost lost sight of. The same empathy for people's circumstances and respect for the varied sides of their stories that Helene may be lacking in her story, is the same empathy for Helene's experience that seems to be lacking in the essay.

Whether we like it or not or agree with it or not, it is Ms. Cooper's valid and real perspective. We need All the chapters of the Liberian voice to complete the story of the Liberian people

Both pieces should be lauded for the signifigant achievement of causing us to look deeper and and to engage in thought and conversation that brings clarity and true understanding of ourselves and our world.

The palaver hut has its place.

T, what do we learn from Helene's book? i agree that authorship is for the most part subjective. it is her 'subjectivity' and can only be that-but it is also information that is linked subjectively by many people to past and current societal issues.

i doubt whether there is negativity towards her. personally, i believe Helene could have gone deeper into her analysis in both 'parts' of her memoir. when she first wrote a piece that has blown into the book, i talked to her about her bravery in bringing some of these things to the fore. it is challenging and difficult and i think it woul dhave been more important to put a value on some of what she described in the book. for example, why didn't vickie and eunice go on annual vacations? why didn't her mom speak out when her mother made derogatory remarks about country people? what did she think about majority of the country's poor, some of who worked as servants in her home? what did Helene think?

The first part of the book, pre-coup, is flat and idyllic. when she moves over to the post-coup period, there seems to be some judgment and analysis in the mayhem that occurs. there is no link to the first part. this is the persistent argument and stance of many persons. 'this country got messed up in 1980'. the book reinforces this 'history'.

Helene's audience is global and her book is accepted as the 'truth' for the most part. all was well until the 'country people' took over. additionally, what she writes is not much different from what we learn in history classes; in fact, it reinforces that body of knowledge that is now being questioned.

Helene has the right to write her memoirs and tread on simple, subjective paths. however, the responsibility to country cannot be undermined; not only because it is about liberia but because what she writes about is a contributing factor to the situation we find ourselves in.

Writing has its power perspectives. people tend to believe information in black and white and use it as references. go to FB and find the group, the house at sugar beach. it will tell you something. i think the book says, we are still divided. you tell your story and i tell mine. depending on the circulation and audience, we will see which one makes a mark.

Krazzy, I was in ACS with Helene when the coup happened. I had friends who similarly lived that "idyllic" life Helene describes. I even have a friend I would go "spend time" with often but whenever we went to visit his big ma, I was not allowed to go upstairs with him --- largely because my pa was a country man. You believe Helene COULD have gone deeper in her analysis......well that can/should be said about any I suppose. The reality for is that we are all only able to tell our own story from our own perspective. We can try to be boldly honest but all of our introspection will still only reveal our own world view. The dialogue that results from your writing or my writing or Helene's writing is what is most important for me. The fact that we are all talking about this book gives us a greater opportunity to become more human I think. So to that extent, the "responsibility to country" that you talk about is exactly what we are doing now. Given that Helene has made it clear that she is only holding what she learned as her truth makes it clear that she is open to further dialogue, more learning, deeper exploration. I think if we (writers and readers) can approach these important issues in that fashion, we've got hope. We are all at the end of the day guilty of the very things we often accuse others of. That doesn't make us better or worse but we've got to be able to open up and recognize our own human frailties. I just think there were instances where Robtel was a bit too harsh on Helene.

okay...i hear you. i believe robtel's piece is a part of that dialogue that you are talking about. we have different reactions to this book and it is only natural that some will apply it to their own pain of what helene speaks of in idyllic fashion. i got a copy of the book from robtel, with the condition that i would write a review. i could not. it had such a profound effect on me-provoked me beyond my own comfort. in her tone, i see today's liberia-a place where stratification has multiplied to exponential levels. it is still seen as an instrumental space. people are more valuable based on their backgrounds and names and exposure. COUNTRY is still a terms that a large part of the vocabulary of many liberians who are living their 'truth'.

on a connected agenda, a friend and i are planning to start a speaker's forum, working with the UL, Cuttingotn and other universities. We will work with peole from diverse backgrounds to have a sustained intellectual sharing on some of these issues. i will keep you updated as we progress.

Interesting views... I think if HC was not an esteemed journalist, Robtel, Jestina and others would not be as harsh..... But given HC's professional experience, one would expect an objective account and analysis of the historical, cultural and soceital conditions that shaped her life and those around her at the time.... She could have delicately intertwined them in her very personal story.....To me, this was a missed opportunity..... My initial conclusions seem to have been right on point.... Now I know fo sure I ain't reading that book.....

i knew something was going to bring you outside, consultant! how have you been?

lol... u geh i alret o... how u ma????? these people been laying off like crazy so i just pop in to read and haul butt..... but this one caught my heart small... just read RP's analysis yesterday and can't imagine a better review... Maybe our expectations were too high and HC was simply writing a "when we were we" book....

Jocelyn wrote:

Interesting views... I think if HC was not an esteemed journalist, Robtel, Jestina and others would not be as harsh..... But given HC's professional experience, one would expect an objective account and analysis of the historical, cultural and soceital conditions that shaped her life and those around her at the time.... She could have delicately intertwined them in her very personal story.....To me, this was a missed opportunity..... My initial conclusions seem to have been right on point.... Now I know fo sure I ain't reading that book.....

Interesting point…from that perspective, I can see why some may have been so critical.

krazzy wrote:

i knew something was going to bring you outside, consultant! how have you been?

I know right <--hadu oh