Trespassing: My Sojourn in the Halls of Privilege

By Gwendolyn M. Parker

Book Overview

Parker's compelling memoir offers a revealing glimpse inside corporate America through the eyes of a black woman "intruder." From a nurturing childhood in a middle-class black community, Parker rose... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395822971
• ISBN13: 9780395822975
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

What every WHITE person needs to understand!

Trespassing is about so much more than the trials a woman faces in business. It is a clearly written portrayal of what it means to be black or a minority in the U.S.A. As a white person, I never understood how minorities felt or what they experienced. Gwendolyn Parker paints a picture that communicates the subtle behaviors and attitudes of prejudice so everyone can comprehend how it feels to be a minority and what people of color experience in this country and she accomplished this in a very compelling manner that is a joy to read. This is a must read that you don't want to put down.

From Another Sister Making that Journey

I read this book while in the 'throes' of my Doctoral program. I was so encouraged to read about another bright sister going through emotional pain and stress in a place of "higher learning" that was supposed to build you up, but seemed to be about destroying you at all costs. In fact, I had gone to an Ivy League school in Virginia for my Masters degree and did not nearly have the crushing discrimination and prejudice aimed at me that I did at this much less elite, (though well known), Texas University. Gwen's book made me remember that I wasn't alone in my experiences, nor crazy, and encouraged me to continue the fight.

An enlightening, potentially life-saving, book. Must read.

Gwen Parker's story is one which sheds light on the plight of the upwardly mobile African-American woman. Well-written and engaging, it is an important guide for those who would follow in her footsteps, illuminating many subtle, seemingly innocuous pressures which accompany the path of those few chosen to sojourn. A potential life-saver for some sojourners who wonder why the emptiness, why the sadness, why the depression when most folks deem them privileged and competent. I thank Jill for her compassion, for making "stupid" a bad word in her home, and for telling the story with insight, compassion and intelligence. Godspeed, Gwen, in a career which requires the courage to turn your back on material temptations of comfort and illusions of security in order to fill a higher purpose - that of storytelling, a calling which benefits untold numbers of readers.

A Compeling Read

Having lived in the same era as Ms. Parker, I found myself propelled back in time and place, sharing many of the same memories of Harvard Yard, Mt.Vernon, NY and Kent, CT. This is a real-life tale told by the top student in the class, the one that should "have it all." Our culture cannot afford to discourage the best and brightest in the country. What does it say about us, as a nation, when the likes of Ms. Parker get discouraged and "drop out?" As a woman in corporate America, I face many of the same up-hill climbs and curtailed success. I immediately liked Ms. Parker as she shares personal details of her life, like an open diary. I found myself eagerly coming back to this book at the end of my work day.

A moving, memorable memoir, balanced, insightful, readable

Ms. Parker's memoir resonates powerfully for African-Americans and other Americans, who may be among the "firsts" from their communities to "tresspass in halls of privilege". Unlike some similar memoirs, it is not so tragic as to be embittering, but is a balanced presentation of a carefully examined experience. Ms. Parker's love of the written word is evident in her well-chosen descriptive phrases and well-paced story-telling. The book is very readable, and, if you can relate to it at all, once you pick it up, you don't want to put it down. I commend Ms. Parker for her courage and tenacity in telling a very important story, that needs to be told and retold, and understood by Americans of every hue. For blacks, there's insight into our own diversity, and our weakness for hurting each other when in pain. For others, there's valuable insight about what it takes to create a truly inclusive society.