Oprah’s Next Chapter brings us a spark of southern charm with a visit and a sleepover at Paula Deen’s house.  As the show begins, we are reminded that it doesn’t matter how far you’ve come, a visit from Oprah brings a little panic to all as Paula admits that she’s been getting her house ready for a month.  But while the “getting ready” was for Oprah’s visit, somehow it feels a little bit like it was for us, the viewer, as well.  With her light and energy shining from within, Paula Deen opens her home, her heart and her life to Oprah’s Next Chapter and in Paula fashion, she holds nothing back.

As Oprah and best friend, Gayle King, arrive at Paula’s with flowers in hand, it’s clear that this visit is going to be different than other’s that ONC have shown us.  With a unique twist, it’s like a girl’s weekend with amazing snacks and lots of gossip and a few camera people there to film it all.  In the serene setting of Paula’s home in Savannah, we get a little bit of Paula in a lot of different ways.  From the food table that Gayle lovingly tries out for all of us (yes, we want some of Paula’s southern biscuits too!) to the quick tour of the house to the amazing country kitchen, Paula opens her doors and invites us all to step right in.

The first clue that this is not going to be like any other Next Chapter comes when Paula takes Oprah and Gayle to their own little guest cottages to sleep over.  The second clue is when we see Paula walking in her white granny nightgown and fishing boots with coffee in hand saying, “Rise and shine,” with that great southern drawl.  That’s what’s delicious about Paula…not just the food that we expect to be amazing but also, the sweetness and richness of her slow southern charm that comes out with every word. So while most “girl’s weekends” would start out with a morning of croissants and coffee, Paula takes Oprah and Gayle catfish fishing in her pond with the old kind of fishing poles that my grandpa might have put together for me while he told me stories of his life.  So, as Gayle tries to plea for the fish and Oprah tries to reel one in, Paula dances in her white nightgown and boots with delight.  Just priceless.

As the women make it down to Paula’s dock house, one of her favorite places to go, Gayle and Oprah take a seat on Paula’s mother’s sofa.  Paula tells how she lost both of her parents at a young age – her father when she was 19, her mother when she was 23.  As she opens her heart, she reveals to us a place that many of us would have a hard time telling a trusted friend…let alone a room full of cameras…but she shares.  “When daddy died, the only way I could sleep was in the bed with my momma on one side and my husband on the other,” Paula tells us.  Devastating and life changing, her father’s sudden death changed her life.  “I was my daddy’s princess. And God was gonna take me. I was gonna die,” she explains. “And God knew my daddy couldn’t take that, so he went ahead and took him first. So at 19, I woke up every day waiting to die. That’s heavy.” Paula shares that his death made her shut herself down and this was when her fear of leaving the house began.  It took a Phil Donahue show on agoraphobia for her to realize what was going on in her life…and a few more years to face it.  But like an aha moment that changes your life, Paula tells us that one morning she woke up reciting the “Serenity Prayer” and the whole world looked different.  God works in all kinds of ways.

Though Paula’s journey has been as big and bold as she is, it’s her spirit and determination that keep her pushing through life.  It was as if that twenty years when she was afraid to live built up like inside a pressure cooker.  Now that she’s taken that lid off and let herself live, she has an energy and a force that says, “Get out of my way…coming through!”  Of course…she says it with the Paula Deen slow southern accent and adds a “Y’all” to the end too, but it’s as if her soul has been saving itself up for the world and it’s going to make sure that nothing is missed from now on.

As Oprah, Gayle and Paula play through the morning and then gather for a family brunch around the table, we are reminded that there is so much about all of our journeys that are similar.  From the relationship struggles to the financial hardships to the highs and lows in all of life, there is so much that connects our stories and our spirits.  The energy that we have moves us through our lives and after watching Oprah’s Next Chapter with Paula Deen, here’s hoping that her passion and southern sparkle lightens up all of us just a little more.  Live bold and never be afraid to change your life.  Jump right in…even if you have to hike up your granny nightgown and put on your boots.  Just don’t forget to channel your own southern sparkle y’all.