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Oprah Winfrey has been called the Queen of All Media for good reason—during her more than thirty-year career, she has left an indelible mark on radio, television, film, theater, magazines, and books. One of the most influential people today, Oprah is also a committed humanitarian.
The (real) Black Cinderella SyndromeReviewed by Herbert L Calhoun, 2009-06-28
After reading the poorly crafted abomination by Helen S. Garson
(Oprah Winfry: A Biography), I sought additional resource material
to further unravel the enigma of a personality that was only hinted
at in Garson's book. The first source I tried, a book by her
erstwhile boyfriend and "escort for life," Stedman Graham ("You Can
Make it Happen"), the puzzle that is Oprah was ignored altogether.
Stedman's book, it turns out was a motivational tract aimed mostly
at young black men. And while interesting, except for a few
disclaimers, was altogether mute on the issue of Oprah her self.
While this book began honestly enough, at least in the early
chapters, using Oprah's sister Patricia Lee's revelations to begin
pulling back the veil slightly, most of the rest of the book, like
Garson's, was again poorly organized and devoted to issuing lavish,
endless and sometimes unwarranted praise of Oprah's
accomplishments. This incessant and sycophantic praising gets
tiring very quickly, and in the end serves more to mask and turn
Oprah into a one-dimensional caricature of herself than to reveal
"the real" Oprah. Without being mean-spirited in anyway, one could
certainly argue that there is hardly any further need for another
book devoted to praising Oprah's achievements since they are all on
public display daily via her TV show, in her overt support of
President Obama, her many public awards, and in her support of the
South Africans Girl's school, which she never misses an opportunity
to gush about.
Two of Oprah's best friends Quincy Jones and Maya Angelou, also had
troubled childhoods that they both wrote about eloquently and
honestly. For them, giving an honest portrayal actually seemed to
have enlarged rather than subtracted from their stature. By
attempting to conceal her troubled past, one fears that Oprah has
done just the opposite, and in the process done herself more
long-term harm than good: For it is one thing to be a troubled
child with an embarrassing background, and quite another to lie
about it -- although most of us do lie about unpleasant aspects of
our past. However, it takes a different kind of character flaw (on
an altogether higher dimension) to seek to enlist the rest of the
world in a cover-up of these unpleasant facts, and expect them to
keep the secret for life. And then to get passive aggressively
incensed when they refuse to participate in the cover-up for life.
That is what Oprah did. One now wonders what additional secrets
Stedman is holding back for later strategic revelations? All Oprah
has done has been to make herself vulnerable to more hidden longer
stemmed time bombs, all of her own making.
Until this book, what seemed to have been missing from Oprah's
biography was the "Rosetta Stone" to her personality and character:
a clearing up of and a "squaring of the ledger" for the period of
her life from the ages of about 10 to15. Until her sister had her
say in the present book, that phase had been carefully shrouded in
self-made legend and purposeful mystery. And frankly the earlier
book by Ms. Garson, by clumsily trying to obfuscate and hide that
period, simply raised the alarm as well as the stakes, making it
all the more important to see behind Oprah's carefully constructed
screen. That is what motivated me to pursue the issue
further.
Much to Ms. Winfry's dismay, Patricia Lee, Oprah younger sister, no
longer wanted to be a party to the lie and the sloppy cover-up. So
she went public in this book, intentionally destroying the cheesily
concocted legend about Oprah during this critical period of her
life.
According to Ms. Lee, Oprah was a smart but promiscuous, thieving,
little out-of-control, entitled bitch, who wreaked so much havoc in
their Milwaukee household during the ages of about nine until 13
that her mother sought to have her committed to a girl's
reformatory. Had the school not been overcrowded at the time, the
Oprah Winfry story may have had a very different ending. But
fortunately for Oprah, while waiting to be admitted to the Reform
School, Oprah's mother decided instead to foist her off on her
father in Tennessee. He carted her back to Knoxville where it was
discovered that she was already several months pregnant. Vernon
Winfry, as much as it could be done, put a stop to Oprah's lying,
thieving and whoring ways, and almost made a respectable lady out
of her. In any case, after the baby died under mysterious
circumstances, Oprah's life changed for the better. She stole a
couple of beauty contests, and ended up with an offer to co-anchor
a TV news program, and the rest is history.
My sympathy lies with Oprah. Her's was a very heavy cross for an
American celebrity to have to bear. If it were mine, I would have
lied about her past too, but to expect that the truth would never
come out? That is Michael Jackson (may he RIP) level fantasy. It
speaks to Oprah's Cinderella complex: What was clearly driving her
(and still is driving her and Gail) is wanting to be the white girl
that even her billions will not allow her to become. To live
simultaneously in that shattered faux Cinderella world and also be
normal in everyday reality, no matter how many billions one has,
requires deep personal awareness, long-term therapy and heavy
medication, at the very least. And Oprah seems to have had none of
these.
Oprah, your slip is still showing? Go see a fortuneteller: I see
more self-destructive trouble in your future. And afterwards, then
please don't walk, run to the nearest therapist. And take your girl
friend Gail Bumpus along with you. Two stars
Great BookReviewed by J. David, 2008-06-24
I thought this was a really good book. I learned alot about Oprah's life, alot of things I did not expect. Up Close books are great books and I would recommended all Up Close books to anyone intrested in reading.
A GOD'S CHILDReviewed by Frank Renand, 2008-02-06
At first we may thought about Oprah, a pure TV product...but the
book is a wonderful story about a born poor, black, woman, a rebel
who was suffering during her childhood but Oprah is a God's child
and has been supported once she was a young woman. Why? How? read
the book and you will know a compassion and authenticity.
I am a leadership expert and can tell you how I was surprise of her
simple way of life: perseverance!
I was living the story of Oprah Potter! but harry is only a
fiction, OPRAH is GENUINE.
Dear Oprah, with all my love for what you have done and continue to
do.
You are a role model and it is just the beginning!
Prof.Franck Renand
Thank you for your attention. franckrenand@yahoo.fr
Oprah Winfrey: "I Don't Believe In Failure" (African-American
Biography Library)
