Episode 24 - Challenging the Status Quo for Everyday Evolution with Rebecca Walker and Lily Diamond

We are joined not only by one powerhouse woman but two, Rebecca Walker and Lily Diamond. These two women joined forces to co-author a book called “What’s Your Story? A Journey for Everyday Evolution”.  

First, we will be speaking with Rebecca, she is an American writer, feminist, activist, and you likely know her as the daughter of Alice Walker, author of “The Color Purple.” Rebecca made it her mission to revitalize feminist movements to ensure the fight for women’s rights were heard, she knew when she or other people were not being treated correctly. 

Lily Diamond is our second speaker today. She is a writer, photographer, and advocate for harnessing the power of digital media. Lily is all about democratizing wellness and empowering women through storytelling. Lily began questioning the ideologies and beliefs she grew up with and starting changing those perceptions as she got older.

Rebecca and Lily have paired together, creating this awe-inspiring book, with the call to challenge the status quo, to think about the way in which we view race & gender and to think about the way in which we navigate our journeys through the world and offer hindsight regarding who we are as humans. 

In This Episode:

[03:08] Rebecca starts off today by revealing which role she took on as a child; rule breaker or rule follower.

[08:25] Lily joins the conversation, divulging her status as a rule breaker or follower as a child.

[12:34] Comparing the meaning of the statement: being a rebel versus challenging the status quo.

[16:46] The story that Rebecca and Lily have created in their book and how they are wanting to be perceived.

[20:31] A moment of awakening in Rebecca’s life began in her early twenties, participating and immersing herself into feminist movements.

[29:31] Lily’s pivotal moment as a young adult, questioning how she was perceiving beliefs and principles in life and starting to change those perceptions.

[42:54] The day Lily and Rebecca met was perfectly aligned in their lives.

[46:53] Rebecca feels a strong sense of duty to help people express their real feelings and to be authentic to their true selves.

[53:02] After finishing the book, what was the biggest lesson they’ve learned through that process?

Key Takeaways:

Rebecca always felt from a young age that she knew when she or other people were not being treated correctly. She would take on the role of becoming an advocate for herself and others.

Rebecca made it her mission to revitalize feminist movements to ensure the fight for women’s rights were heard.

Lily began questioning the ideologies and beliefs she grew up with and starting changing those perceptions as she got older.

The relationship between Rebecca and Lily has evolved into a powerful friendship and comradeship, from being open and honest with each other to authentically supporting one another.

QUOTES:

“Our relationship has evolved into one of powerful friendship and comradeship.”
- Rebecca Walker on her friendship with Lily

“From a very young age, I felt the need to either speak about those things to other people and try to be an advocate of some kind, on their behalf, or to just note in myself that what was happening to me was not okay.” - Rebecca Walker

“When I started to listen to my peers talk about their experiences of feminism, it always came that they felt there was a kind of rigidity and a kind of totalizing ideology that made them very uncomfortable and that was an awakening.” - Rebecca Walker

“I think many of us have this desire to be accepted and to belong and that transforms often into an ability to not be completely honest with ourselves.” - Lily Diamond

I think the most significant thing that I have learned that has also been a gift in the process of creating “What's Your Story?” is that it takes time and it takes extraordinary patience.” - Lily Diamond

Bio:

LILY DIAMOND

Lily Diamond is a writer, educator, and advocate working to democratize wellness through storytelling, accessible practices for inner and outer nourishment, and revolutionary acts of self-care in relationship to our earth and human communities. Lily is author of bestselling memoir-cookbook Kale & Caramel: Recipes for Body, Heart, and Table, coauthor of What’s Your Story?: A Journal for Everyday Evolution, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, VICE, Healthyish, Women’s Review of Books, Refinery29, and more. She lives in Maui, Hawai‘i, where she grew up, on occupied native Hawaiian land.

REBECCA WALKER

Rebecca Walker is a best-selling author, editor, and cultural critic who has contributed to the global conversation about race, gender, culture, and power for over two decades. She has spoken at over four hundred universities, conferences, literary festivals, and corporate campuses around the world, and is a co-founder of the Third Wave Fund, an organization that supports women and transgender youth working for social justice. Rebecca has won many awards, and was named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential leaders of her generation. She lives in Los Angeles.

CONNECT WITH US:

Find Lily Diamond on Instagram, Rebecca Walker on Instagram, and “What’s Your Story?: A Journey for Everyday Evolution” Book

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Until next time… High Five!