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Former host of the “Seventh Sense” show on LBC Giselle Kassatly recently released her debut book, First Be a Woman, in which she advocates for women’s empowerment as a critical step towards becoming fully realized individuals.
In her debut literary work, life coach Giselle Kassatly asks, First Be a Woman. The book was initially published in English in 2021 and then translated to Arabic in 2022. “Many of us were nurtured to subordinate our needs. Women have been oppressed for centuries and the subjugation persists,” she writes in the preface. “However, acknowledging and tending to our needs isn’t selfishness, but a vital prerequisite for caring for others. Striving for personal happiness should be an unyielding priority.”
Kassatly, a former fashion designer who owned a set of boutiques in Toronto, Beirut, and Kuwait, was also the host of the “Seventh Sense” show on the Lebanese LBC channel for a decade. She used the platform to tackle various challenges that all women eventually face, offering solutions anchored in holistic therapies such as reiki, meditation, yoga, physical exercise, and a healthy diet. She also broached previously unaddressed topics. “Menopause remains taboo for many women. They silently suffer, grappling with the incomprehensible changes in their bodies,” Kassatly stated during an interview. “But there are effective natural remedies for both body and mind, such as bio-identical hormones.”
Laboring towards freedom
Kassatly navigated through life’s tumultuous waters, striving to impart lessons drawn from her own experiences to help others through hardship and support those less fortunate. Having gotten married early in her twenties, she decided to get a divorce a decade later. “I come from a profoundly conservative background,” she confides. “My father was overly concerned with the opinions of society. He declared to his circle that his daughter was “dead,” as I had allegedly brought dishonor upon our family.”
Emigrating to Canada at the outset of the Civil War (1975-1990), Kassatly, then about thirty years old, was plunged into a tumultuous chapter of her life. Post-separation, she faced the daunting task of relocating, bearing the financial burden of raising her two children, balancing a demanding professional life to keep her businesses afloat, and attending to her own needs along with her sons’. “I eventually earned my independence and reclaimed my dignity,” she asserts. “In Middle Eastern society, respect isn’t a given. One must work diligently to exist as a liberated woman.”
Having earned her freedom, she remained unwed for the next decade. Giselle travelled the world, exploring diverse cultures and philosophies. Her journeys were inward expeditions that drove her towards self-reflection. When she scaled the Himalayas in two weeks, equipped only with rudimentary resources, she thrust herself into an extreme environment: “The thought of giving up crossed my mind a thousand times, accustomed as I was to urban comfort,” she reminisces. “But this grueling challenge made me feel invincible. I realized that nothing is impossible.”
Knowledge is the key to everything
Her spiritual quest led her to study the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred Hindu text. The former stylist then became a master of transcendental meditation and reiki, a Japanese technique based on energy channeling. “Meditation isn’t associated with any religion; it soothes the mind and helps one gain self-mastery,” Kassatly elucidates in her book. “Behind every great woman, there lies her own strength. The most alluring individuals are those who have faced defeat, endured suffering, known despair and lack, but have nonetheless discovered the path to depth.”
However, if one fails to fully understand their issues, self-development alone is insufficient. “It is more beneficial to be guided by a psychologist capable of identifying the root causes and addressing trauma,” she advises. Often overlooked in favor of outward appearance, particularly in a consumerist society dominated by the dictates of social media, self-improvement is, according to this life coach, indispensable to women’s empowerment and personal fulfillment.
“Dress to please yourself. Admiration begins internally before it is reflected externally,” the retired fashion designer advocates. Sipping her drink, Kassatly radiates an aura of youthful energy. The aphorism by Indo-American New Age author Deepak Chopra, “Choose an age and keep it,” has become her motto.
Five years ago, Kassatly discovered that her eldest son was diagnosed with cancer. “This devastating experience made me stronger. I understood the necessity of fighting, as life is fraught with challenges,” she emphasizes. “I live each day as though it were my last. Our lives are becoming increasingly arduous, necessitating a simplification of affairs.” To maintain a buoyant disposition, Kassatly suggests simple remedies such as reading, writing, emotional engagement, outings in the city or nature, dancing, singing, and, most importantly… laughter.
