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The Heart of a Woman sings with Maya Angelou's eloquent prose and is filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous people, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X. Even more central is Maya Angelou's chronicle of the joys and the burdens of being a black mother in America and how the son she has cherished so intensely and worked for so devotedly finally grows to be a man.
The beloved and best-selling author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings reads aloud from her third book of verse. She not only gives life to many of her most cherished poems, but she also presents personal introductions to several favorites, including "One More Round", "Woman Work", and "Life Doesn't Frighten Me".
The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple best-selling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother. For the first time, Angelou 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 Angelou’s early life.
Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou's path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories: guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight. Here in short spellbinding essays are glimpses of the tumultuous life that led Angelou to an exalted place in American letters and taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude.
Maya Angelou, one of the best-loved authors of our time, shares the wisdom of a remarkable life in this best-selling spiritual classic. This is Maya Angelou talking from the heart, down to earth and real, but also inspiring. This is a book to be treasured, a book about being in all ways a woman, about living well, about the power of the word, and about the power of spirituality to move and shape your life.
"Amazing Peace" is a beautiful and deeply moving poem from Maya Angelou. Here she inspires us to embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, so that hope and love can once again light up our holidays and the world. "Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, look heavenward," she writes, "and speak the word aloud. Peace." "Amazing Peace" is Maya Angelou's radiant affirmation of the goodness of life and is a touching celebration of the "Glad Season" that will resonate with people of all faiths.
The Heart of a Woman sings with Maya Angelou's eloquent prose and is filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous people, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X. Even more central is Maya Angelou's chronicle of the joys and the burdens of being a black mother in America and how the son she has cherished so intensely and worked for so devotedly finally grows to be a man.
The beloved and best-selling author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings reads aloud from her third book of verse. She not only gives life to many of her most cherished poems, but she also presents personal introductions to several favorites, including "One More Round", "Woman Work", and "Life Doesn't Frighten Me".
The story of Maya Angelou’s extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple best-selling autobiographies. But now, at last, the legendary author shares the deepest personal story of her life: her relationship with her mother. For the first time, Angelou 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 Angelou’s early life.
Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter reveals Maya Angelou's path to living well and living a life with meaning. Told in her own inimitable style, this book transcends genres and categories: guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight. Here in short spellbinding essays are glimpses of the tumultuous life that led Angelou to an exalted place in American letters and taught her lessons in compassion and fortitude.
Maya Angelou, one of the best-loved authors of our time, shares the wisdom of a remarkable life in this best-selling spiritual classic. This is Maya Angelou talking from the heart, down to earth and real, but also inspiring. This is a book to be treasured, a book about being in all ways a woman, about living well, about the power of the word, and about the power of spirituality to move and shape your life.
"Amazing Peace" is a beautiful and deeply moving poem from Maya Angelou. Here she inspires us to embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, so that hope and love can once again light up our holidays and the world. "Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers, look heavenward," she writes, "and speak the word aloud. Peace." "Amazing Peace" is Maya Angelou's radiant affirmation of the goodness of life and is a touching celebration of the "Glad Season" that will resonate with people of all faiths.
This is the next installment in a six volume autobiography that began more than thirty years ago with the appearance of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In A Song Flung Up to Heaven Maya Angelou describes her poignant encounters with Martin Luther King, Jr.; her work with the civil rights movement; and witnessing the Watts riots. Battered by the loss of revered black leaders, it takes writer James Baldwin to finally force her out of isolation with a dinner party that inspired her to write.
Even the Stars Look Lonesome is Maya Angelou talking of the things she cares about most. In her unique, spellbinding way, she recreates intimate personal experiences and gives us her wisdom on a wide variety of subjects. She tells us how a house can both hurt its occupants and heal them. She talks about Africa. She gives us a profile of Oprah. She enlightens us about age and sexuality.
Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 - when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate - and continuing over the course of her marriage to "Mister", a brutal man who terrorizes her.
"True belonging doesn't require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are." Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives - experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization.
At once a powerful evocation of his early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic, James Baldwin galvanized the nation in the early days of the civil rights movement with this eloquent manifesto. The Fire Next Time stands as one of the essential works of our literature.
"Any kind of movement for freedom of Black people based solely within the confines of America is absolutely doomed to fail." Speeches and interviews from the last two years of Malcolm X's life.
One of the comedy world's fastest-rising stars tells his wild coming of age story during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. Noah provides something deeper than traditional memoirists: powerfully funny observations about how farcical political and social systems play out in our lives.
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, an American classic, is the luminous and haunting novel about Janie Crawford, a Southern Black woman in the 1930s, whose journey from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance has inspired writers and readers for close to 70 years.
Throughout Maya Angelou's life, from her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, to her world travels as a best-selling writer, good food has played a central role. Preparing and enjoying homemade meals provides a sense of purpose and calm, accomplishment, and connection. Now in Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Angelou shares memories pithy and poignant, and the recipes that helped to make them both indelible and irreplaceable.
With the same extraordinary skill that he used to demystify scientific abstraction and the new physics, Gary Zukav, the award-winning author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters, here takes us on a brilliant and penetrating exploration of the new phase of evolution we have now entered.
Meg Murry, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their mother are having a midnight snack on a dark and stormy night when an unearthly stranger appears at their door. He claims to have been blown off course and goes on to tell them that there is such a thing as a "tesseract", which, if you didn't know, is a wrinkle in time. Meg's father had been experimenting with time travel when he suddenly disappeared. Will Meg, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin outwit the forces of evil as they search through space for their father?
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash”. At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age - and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime.
Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a modern American classic that will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read - or listen.
I dont know if I should be admitting this but I am, this was my first Maya Angelou book. I mean, I remember reading this book in early grade school but as a child I could have never grasped the meaning. Reading this story now as an adult I appreciate her honesty. Her narrative tone placed me by her side. I walked with her, laughed with her, hurt with her, and hugged her. This story took me to the place when I questioned my placement in the world and my natural beauty. I applaud Maya Angelou for being ever so brave to share her story. This story has encouraged me to always remain true to myself, seek the guidence of the Lord , and never never lose my faith. Thank you for writing this story.
25 of 27 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
yes, already have. triumph over adversity, an amazing story of the human experience at its worst and very best.
What was one of the most memorable moments of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
my most memorable was, as children, Maya and her brother Bailey laughing uncontrollably during church service when the preacher's false teeth fell out onto the floor.
What about Maya Angelou’s performance did you like?
her narration colored the story so vividly that I could often imagine exactly what these places, faces and things would be and feel like.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I felt the highs and lows of the human experience as Maya may have wanted her audience to. I never cried, but surely did laugh when it was funny. I felt a greater appreciation for Ms. Angelou and the amazing light she was to so many, myself included.
Any additional comments?
its a long audiobook, but worth the listen as so much of our life's journey takes twists and turns we can only understand in retrospect, this book shared the hope that we are given life's lemons to make amazing lemonade.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to be better than the print version?
I have only heard the audio edition, but I can't imagine reading it myself. It was so great to hear Maya Angelou read it in her own words, it was like being there with her again.
What did you like best about this story?
Everything. The candor about her youth and the struggles of her family. I learned so much about that point in history that is never talked about, it was so enlightening. There was so much to this book, every emotion is experienced.
What about Maya Angelou’s performance did you like?
Everything.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
All of it.
Any additional comments?
I wish all of her books were on audio.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in three words, what would they be?
Real
Horrific
Delightful
What did you like best about this story?
I loved the glimpses allowed into the mind of Maya, the way she thought, the way she saw the world.
Which scene was your favorite?
"Preach it!"
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Several moments in this book were life-changing for Maya, but hearing her tell them was life-changing for me.
Any additional comments?
It's difficult to hear of the hardships and struggles of a young girl, but it is also good to see the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
15 of 18 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in three words, what would they be?
overcome
What did you like best about this story?
the details of her life growing up
What does Maya Angelou bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Dr. Angelou's voice telling her own story cannot be surpassed. However, it felt like she may have recorded the narrative more recently, as her narrative sometimes fumbles, almost as if she's not reading her own words. But wouldn't trade her voice for anyone else.
13 of 16 people found this review helpful
What a joy it was to listen to Maya Angelou narrate her story! The book is wonderful, and to have her narrate it made it amazing. I was sad when the book ended because I wanted to go on listening to her voice.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in three words, what would they be?
An amazing story.
What did you like best about this story?
The story of Maya's early life was pretty amazing.
What aspect of Maya Angelou’s performance would you have changed?
Her performance wasn't perfect, but it worked.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes.
12 of 15 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in three words, what would they be?
Raw honest writing.
What does Maya Angelou bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Just hearing the voice of the person who had the experiences in the book adds so much.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings the most enjoyable?
Definitely having the author narrate the book.
What other book might you compare I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to and why?
The Color Purple
Have you listened to any of Maya Angelou’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have listened to her poetry. Never an entire book. It was great! She became every character.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I understood it better with the author reading it. Through her voice I was more aware of how she experienced various situations.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
What did you love best about I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
The voice of Ms. Angelou.
What was one of the most memorable moments of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
Of course, the most memorable moment has to be her being molested. It is the moment that the book builds up to and that everything falls down from.
Which character – as performed by Maya Angelou – was your favorite?
Ritee had such a wonderful relationship with her brother. He was her only real "connective tissue," so to speak. He was the one thing that was always there, whether she was going to live with her grandmother with a note attached to her as a very small girl or being sent back and forth between her parents and grandmother as a growing child, he was the one thing she could always count on. I think he was my favorite because he was a constant.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I re-read this book, this time right after Ms. Angelou died. I think my reaction this time was much less extreme as it was when I read it when I was much younger. I was remembering the times - her childhood and how she was such a strong person, living through so much, and how she got to be that way. This time reading the book, didn't make me laugh as much as smile when she did the things she did. Her determination, for instance, at becoming a money taker on the trolley cars.
Any additional comments?
I will miss Maya Angelou's voice so much. She had such a great talent and this book was one I turned to when she died to say goodbye.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful