Mom & Me & Mom
by Maya Angelou · 2013
Buy on AmazonIn this book, Angelou details what brought her mother to send her away, and unearths the well of emotions she experienced long afterward as a result. For the first time, she reveals the triumphs and struggles of being the daughter of Vivian Baxter, an indomitable spirit whose petite size belied her larger-than-life presence, a presence absent during much of the author's early life. When her marriage began to crumble, Vivian famously sent three-year-old Maya and her older brother away from their California home to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Their reunion a decade later began a story that has never before been told.
Recommended by
Our Shared Shelf — Complete Picks (2016–2019) · goodreads.com
"Maya Angelou’s final work, published a year before her death, in 2013, when she was 85 years old. It was the first book to focus on her mother, Vivian Baxter, who abandoned Angelou when she was a child and it portrays their complicated relationship. The story is about the special connection between mother and child; both women found a way to move on and form a profound and enduring bond of love and support."
Favorite books · radicalreads.com
"This is my favorite Angelou book. It is revelatory about a life of high adventure with her completely tough, gun-toting, charming, fearless and seductive mother."
By the Book: Alice Walker · nytimes.com