What happens when a 35-year-old average American woman decides to spend 12 months following every piece of advice Oprah gives? Robyn Okrant can tell you. She spent 2008 doing exactly that, and now she has written a book about it. In her book, Living Oprah, we get a month-by-month account of what it is like to follow the advice of "The Queen of Talk." Would it make you smarter, prettier, happier, or healthier? Robyn tells all in an exclusive interview with Jonathan Merritt.
Q: What did your husband "Jim" say when you told him you decided to spend a year "living Oprah?"
A: Jim is incredibly supportive of me. I am an artist and writer and frequently come to him with some wacky ideas that I bounce of him. When I mentioned Living Oprah to him, he asked if he'd have to do anything. Naively, I told him no - that he wouldn't even notice I was doing it - that I'd set time aside when he was at work to do the project. Little did I know, almost instantly, we were completely saturated in my "little" experiment.
Q: Have you had any contact with Oprah's people? How are they reacting?
A: Oprah's folks have asked me for my book. But whether they enjoy it or are using it as a dartboard...your guess is as good as mine!
Q: A couple of quick questions, popcorn-style. After a year of "living Oprah"...
Q: Did you weigh more or less?
A: Less, but definitely more toned and muscular
Q: Happier or not?
A: About the same...but more stressed out
Q: Healthier or not?
A: About the same
Q: Better marriage or worse?
A: During the year, worse, once the year was over, better than ever
Q: Richer or poorer?
A: Hmm...poorer during the year (almost 5K of my own money went into the project!) and than richer once the year was over because my book was published!
Q: More spiritual or less?
A: I would say I'm more confident in my spirituality. When I allowed Oprah to define or guide what she thought a healthy spiritual life should look like, even though I did learn some good lessons, I felt a bit off kilter. Now that the year is over, I feel more connected to my spirituality.
Q: You tried everything...literally, everything. In your opinion, what's the best piece of advice Oprah has given?
A: Oprah advocates that we all go out in the world and put time and energy into causes we believe in. So, it's not just about writing a check, it's about doing hands on philanthropy. I organized a big book drive, I donated time/food to a food pantry. Now that the Living Oprah project is over, I'm still giving my energy (in addition to donating money, when I'm able) to causes I believe in.
Q: Worst advice?
A: This might work for other people, but it didn't work for me...having to go out and buy clothing/makeup/accessories to fit in with Oprah (and her expert's and her staff's) idea of what makes women beautiful. I spent a lot of money on items, that in my real life, I'd never use. When doing the project, I looked just like the majority of folks who make up her audience, but I ended up feeling self conscious - as if I was walking around in costume. I felt could have spent my money in a more worthwhile manner...or better yet, SAVED it!
Q: I've heard you're working on another project. Can you give us a sneak peak?
A: I've got a few projects I'm juggling now, but I'm incredibly excited about the one that came as a result of Living Oprah. In response to all the focus I had to place on my appearance, on spending, on decorating, on listening to outside sources to validate me, I'm doing a little detox. We women are so bombarded with images of what we're supposed to look like, what a successful relationship is, what it appears like to "have it all." Many of us judge ourselves so harshly because we can't live up to the ideals presented to us in the media. I'm trying to strip away those influences in my life, in hopes that I'll end up even more confident and accepting of myself how I am, without being convinced that I need to have or be MORE. Who knows, maybe there are some women out there who might want to join me?
If you want to read about Robyn's entire experience, check out Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk with The Queen of Talk
Jonathan Merritt is a faith and culture writer and author of Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet