Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Unavailable
Mom & Me & Mom
Unavailable
Mom & Me & Mom
Unavailable
Mom & Me & Mom
Audiobook4 hours

Mom & Me & Mom

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The story of Maya Angelou's extraordinary life has been chronicled in her multiple bestselling 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. 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. The subsequent feelings of abandonment stayed with Angelou for years, but their reunion, a decade later, began a story that has never before been told. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou dramatizes her years reconciling with the mother she preferred to simply call "Lady," revealing the profound moments that shifted the balance of love and respect between them.

Delving into one of her life's most rich, rewarding, and fraught relationships, Mom & Me & Mom explores the healing and love that evolved between the two women over the course of their lives, the love that fostered Maya Angelou's rise from immeasurable depths to reach impossible heights.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 2, 2013
ISBN9780449808238
Unavailable
Mom & Me & Mom

Related to Mom & Me & Mom

Related audiobooks

Relationships For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Mom & Me & Mom

Rating: 4.193693675675676 out of 5 stars
4/5

222 ratings33 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this memoir of Angelou's relationship with her mother, especially as read by the author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ms. Angelou is an amazing woman and continues to rise to the top of anything she sets out to accomplish. This is a book I would recommend to any and everyone, but especially to young women. There are so many life lessons and examples of strength of character. Everyone needs someone to set the example and to look up to; Ms. Angelou does this beautifully.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While listening to this book I was also reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and there is some overlapping stories between the two books, but the details don't entirely match, which makes both autobiographies more authentic because no story is told the same way twice and memories have ways of changing.This book was choppier than IKWTCBS, but that has to do with the subject matter. Instead of focusing on a specific time in her life, Angelou relates various stories about her relationship with her mother, beginning when she goes to live with her as a pre-teen to her mother's death. It's an incredible journey.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I was surprised to find that I had gotten this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. I have tried to get books by well-known authors through LTER, but I haven't snagged any before. But this time I got lucky.I have read very little of Angelou. I started "I know why the caged bird sings," but have not gotten very far. I remember thinking the language of the book was beautiful and the story important, and so I'm not sure what has kept me from it."Mom & Me & Mom" is about the relationship between Angelou and her mother, Vivian Baxter, whom she called Lady, and then so did every one else. Angelou had been sent to Stamps, Arkansas, to live with her grandmother when she was very young, and she didn't return to live with her mother in California until she was 13. She didn't really know her mother when she was sent to Arkansas and wasn't ready to accept her when she returned to her mother. But Angelou grew to love her mother, and they had a close relationship until her mother's death.I was surprised at how simple the language of this book was. I recall thinking that the writing in "Caged Bird" was lyrical, but this simple English did not have a poetic feel to it. The read was easy and short, just taking a couple of hours to finish. Not having known anything about Maya Angelou except that she was a writer and poet, the story of her life was new to me. Of note is that Angelou was a great reader as a child and did well in school, but that did not keep her from getting pregnant during her senior year and giving birth to her son soon after graduation. That she would go on to be a successful writer, singer and actor and eventually a college teacher made me feel better about choices I have made in my life and that success can follow even poor choices if you accept the choices and move on.The first half of the book is called Me & Mom and is about Angelou learning to know what kind of person her mother was and growing to love her. The second half, Mom & Me, is about their relationship after Angelou is an adult. She comes to depend on her mother for support and advice, and later takes care of her near the end of her life. Vivian Baxter was a woman who knew what she wanted and got it, wouldn't compromise her morals, and seemed to live life to the fullest. While what she did might not have always been within the law, it was always done for the purpose of helping others.The part of the book that was autobiographical seemed complete and easy to follow. She doesn't explain everything that happens, but we get the gist of how it was to raise her son, her marriage, some of her relationships with men, work, career and going to Wake Forest. The story of her mother, though, had many gaps. For instance, at one time Angelou says that her mother was going to join the merchant marines, but we don't know if that happened or not. She refers to some organizations her mother was a member of, such as Stockton Black Women of Humanity, but I would have liked to hear more about those.I was excited to get this book, but frankly I'm glad it was a quick read, because I was expecting something more - possibly something more academic. I wonder if the audience of the book is supposed to be young adults, but from the content I doubt it. I need to put "Caged Bird" on the summer reading list and complete it this year. Some of this book was a spoiler for it, but I am hoping that the style of writing is more to my taste than "Mom & Me & Mom."
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Mom & Me & Mom is the retelling of events in Maya Angelou's life, but from the perspective of the role played by her mother. Their relationship is uniquely complicated, as are all mother - daughter relationships. When she was three years old, Maya and her older brother, Bailey were sent to Arkansas to live with their paternal grandmother. When she was reunited with her mother at the age of 13 she could only address her as Lady, not mom. The feelings of abandonment, confusion and being unloved percolate through the following years. Her mother, Vivian Baxter, was beautiful, fierce, and tempestuous but ultimately a loving and protective mother. She broke through barriers to get jobs that had been closed to African American women. She ran gambling joints. She traveled and enjoyed life. This book is the story of hurt, anger, forgiveness, and love. Angelou has written a gracious and loving tribute to "Lady B:.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Stunning personal story of a relationship between mother and daughter. Both daring black women making bold moves in the USA and being fierce and also tender. Wow.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wonderful book, beautifully written and superb narrating. Inspired to read more works from this author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The book was very good. It totally kept me interested. I feel I know her a whole lot better.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Maya Angelou’s latest covers much of the same ground as her earlier autobiographical works. Mom & Me & Mom begins with an expansion of the description of the background of Maya’s mother, Vivian “Lady” Baxter, which Angelou wrote of earlier in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The next chapters of Mom & Me & Mom were also covered in Angelou’s first memoir, in which Angelou related the memories and mixed feelings she and her brother, Bailey, experienced when they were returned to their mother in San Francisco after staying with their paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas for much of their childhood. Aside from Vivian’s illness and death, a lot of the rest of “Mom & Me & Mom” was also covered in Angelou’s “Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas.” However, in this latest examination of her life, Angelou, while glossing over some of her earlier stories and adding detail to others, keeps the focus on her relationship with her mother. Angelou has made it clear throughout her autobiographies that Vivian was not prepared to be a mother to her young children, but this book seems to be dedicated to contrasting that image with that of the beautiful, smart, and strong Vivian who provided essential support to Angelou as an adolescent and adult. It’s unfortunate that all of the photos of Vivian in this book are from the ‘60s and ‘70s, so we can only imagine the striking “Lady” at the height of her powers. Although Angelou has said more than once that she never thought of herself as pretty, Vivian’s features and spark can clearly be seen repeated in Angelou’s smiling face in their photos together.A reader who is unfamiliar with Angelou’s earlier memoirs will find Mom & Me & Mom’s descriptions of her life fascinating, if disjointed. No dates are included, and the transitions from chapter to chapter can be jarring. A section on her brother Bailey at the end of one of the final chapters is particularly disconnected, having little to do with the earlier part of the chapter or any of the subsequent stories, although it touches again on Bailey’s mixed feelings for his mother and the consequences of their stormy relationship. What shines clearly throughout the entire book is Angelou’s love and respect for a woman who would be remarkable in any case, but who, as a black woman in mid-twentieth century America, is astonishing in her accomplishments and attitudes. It’s easy to understand how Angelou, with support such as Vivian provided in her adult life, overcame a wide array of difficulties, stacking up her own glittering array of accomplishments in the process.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love Maya Angelou's poetry and found this look at her life to be completely fascinating. She was many things in her life, most of which I had no idea about. Her life was shaded by the times, by the early loss of her mother, then her re-entry back into her life. At the end she says Her mother, Lady, was a terrible mother of small children but the best ever mother for a young adult. Bravo to Maya and her mother. Many people tried to run their lives, but they were strong enough to stand their ground and become incredibly influential human beings.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    If you're interested in Maya Angelou's life this is a good book to read. It tells a lot about her life in relation to her mother. They had a trouble relationship at times and a wonderful one at others.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In this volume Angelou retells retells some of the stories from her earlier volumes, all themed as per the title. I’ve not checked to see how much she quotes verbatim. I actually put off reading this because I’d though the previous volume, A Song Flung Up to Heaven, was a bit diffuse. No such problem here. We’re a long way from the artistic perfection of Caged Bird, but still very enjoyable. The star of the show is Angelou’s mother, Vivian Baxter, a gun-toting, whiskey-drinking, part-time lesbian, as rich in contradiction as her daughter. Something of Angelou’s personality also comes through and there are some funny moments and some moments you might find inspiring if you worship the Doctor.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the best known of poet Maya Angelou's autobiographies, know that her mother, Vivian Baxter, her children Maya (then Marguerite) and Bailey Johnson, Jr. to Stamps, Arkansas to be raised by their paternal grandmother. Late in that memoir, Maya and her brother rejoin their mother in California, but that story only scratches the surface of the unique relationship Maya and Vivian forge as daughter and mother.In January, my book group read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - a reread for me - which reminded me that I wanted to read more of Maya Angelou's works. This one in particular caught my interest because Vivian seemed such an enigma to me in the first book. Some of the stories from the original classic are retold in this one, and some were new to me, but through them all we see Maya's and her mother's bond and the way in which Vivian impacted her life as a teenager and adult. Their relationship was loving and strong and complex. Maya herself acknowledges this in the opening section: "Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flower orderly in our veins" (x). In some ways, Mom & Me & Mom reminds me of The End of Your Life Book Club in exploring that loving relationship, though it was less about books and more about memories, it was similarly a tribute to a yes, imperfect, but truly beloved mother.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flow orderly in our veins.”

    I read this after reading a very intense psychological thriller and it was precisely what I needed.

    I loved how easy Maya Angelou is to read and I found myself just absolutely consuming it. She's the right measure of candid and compassionate. Although I've only read two of her works before (Still I Rise and Letters to My Daughter) I have read a few of the chapters in this book before, so I can see why people who've read everything she's ever written would be a little disappointed in this book.

    But it was exactly what I needed after reading such a difficult book and Maya Angelou is so warm it feels like you're talking to a friend rather than reading a book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another Maya Angelou book that I just adore and love!

    This one is about her relationship with her mother, Vivian Baxter, and the things they went through together from her teen years through the death of her mother.

    It is beautifully written as all of her books are. It is written in a way that has you fall in love with her mother and wish you had a mother like her, even through those times she wasn't showing her best side. I really did enjoy seeing the pictures of her mother and how beautiful she is.

    She spoke of the relationship between herself and her brother, her brother and their mother and her mother's husbands(two). There were other situations spoke of in the book as well.

    She (Maya) spoke of the issues she dealt with when it came to her own relationships with men, the birth of her son and a little about Guy's(her son) father.

    But again, most of this book was centered around the relationship between her and her mother Vivian.

    One of my favorite things in the book was when Maya and Vivian were discussing the relationship between Maya & her husband at the time, Tosh and Vivian was giving Maya advice:

    "It is normal," she said. "And although it is painful, imagine if you had allowed Tosh to take the sense of your person away. Guy would have lost the person he needs the most, his mother. for the sake of yourself, you must preserve yourself and for the sake of guy, you must preserve his mother"

    That part, touched me the most out of the whole book, but there were many other areas in the book that touched me. The whole book itself is just an amazing love story between mother and daughter that may have started off a little weird but by the end, it was just so amazing and beautiful! A must read if you love Maya Angelou and/or you just want a touching story between mother and daughter! This will be another book that will be added to my shelf, along with all of her other books that I have read and have not yet bought! And even ones I haven't read, I will read and add to my shelf as well!

    Edit: 6/1/14:

    Four days after I completed this book (5/24/14), the beautiful Maya Angelou passed (5/28/14). It was such a heartbreaking "shock" (the shock was more in the timing of her death than anything, I understand she is an older woman) for me; to finish this book then to lose her so soon afterwards, when my feelings were still raw in my mind and heart about this book. I remember a part in the book when she was speaking of her mother passing and her going to her mothers hospital room, holding her hand and letting her know that she gave her permission to let her go. That's one of the thoughts I immediately thought of when she passed. Right around the time I finished the book, a thought occurred to me that she was going to be leaving this earth soon. My immediate thought? No! Not Yet! I'm Not Ready For Her To Go! The next thought? When she is ready to let go and leave this earth, let her go! It will be her time!..So I did.

    Now many may think:

    What gives You that right to think that when you never even met her!?!?

    Well, because I've known of her since at least my early teens, but I really don't remember a time that I didn't know who she was. I have adored her since I could remember..And I the more I read her poetry and her books, the more I began to respect, love and look up to her as Mother, Auntie, Grandmother, Elder, Common Sense, and Wisdom in human form! And in all that, I knew she wasn't perfect, but she was and is still a Phenomenal Woman who did and was still Rising above her flaws and inner "battles" like the rest of us.

    She was the extended Motherly figure the Most High put in my distant path to learn from. To Love. To Adore. To look up to! To achieve for in my own personal life. Not to be like her per say, but to use her example to grow into that same Phenomenal Woman she was and not allow my own personal issues stop me from loving me..even if I never have the body type others think I should have. Even if I never look like others think I should (which neither I strive to achieve, I will strive for health, not body type..I will strive for inner beauty, not outer. The inner always shines out anyway right?)

    I did not mean to make this into a "journal" moment but I just wanted to share what Ms. Maya Angelou did for me personally. And what I know she has done for others as well.

    Thank you for reading all of this! :-)

    Bridget
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this too quickly. The short snappy style is wonderful to allow Maya Angelou's voice to punch through the page, but is best heard in smaller doses. However it's impossible to put down as you just want more and more.... remarkable people, remarkable times. And such hearts and minds.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This reflection on the first relationship anyone has -- child-to-mother -- is a valued addition to the expansive story that is Maya Angelou's life. It's almost too easy to nod and mental compliment the author on all she has achieved, but some of the difficulties she presents are huge. She is a brave and powerful woman, and in that way not so different from her mother. But the author's positive view on even the most destructive events, her ability to learn from them, glean the good, and use that to make her present life richer, is the force behind this book. Dr. Angelou remains one of my most-admired contemporary Americans, and this book certainly enhances her impact on many lives.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I remember Maya's childhood as horrific so this memoir surprised me. Her mother was a force and their relationship powerful.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Maya's book about her mother is very touching. I enjoyed it very much.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Throughout the years, I have read several of Maya Angelou's books, all of which I enjoyed. I looked forward to reading Mom & Me & Mom, which I received Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou as part of the Early Reviewers program, and I was not disappointed. Mom & Me & Mom, for me, filled in some gaps about Maya's life, or perhaps just reminded me of things I had forgotten. Either way, I am even more amazed at what a life she has led. Also, I'm amazed at what a Mom she had! Even though Vivian "Lady B" Baxter, was not there for Maya as a young girl, it seems that she wanted to be there for Maya the grown woman. "Lady" gave Maya some good advice over the years that helped make Maya the amazing woman she is today.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Years ago I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I believe Maya Angelou's first autobiographical writing. One specific memory I have of it was the story of how she was raped as a young girl, and then the rapist was killed. She refused to speak for a long period of time afterwards, thinking of her voice - in telling about the rape - as causing his death. Some time later I was in the audience at a conference where Maya Angelou spoke. She has an immense, powerful presence. So, how does one get from frightened child to become such a woman. Finding out more about this was part of my motivation for wanting to read this book.Angelou attributes her strength to her grandmother - who raised her and her five year old brother from the time she was three until she was thirteen - but also to her mother whom the children went to live with when Maya was 13. I'm frankly overwhelmed by the number of things both her mother and Maya Angelou attempted and accomplished. They both seem fearless, though in telling the story Angelou tells more about her fears, with her mother providing much of the strength. It's a pretty convincing portrayal, despite being shown along with some more negative aspects of her experience with her mother. First of all, there was sending the two children away and not being involved with them for ten years. There was also an occasion when her mother slapped her without realizing she had keys in her hand. But this is balanced by generous and gracious acts and the readiness to go to great lengths to support her. Her mother said that she would not have been a good mother to a three year old, and that may simply have been the truth. Based on the book, she was a much better mother of a teenager and young woman.The book will probably be most enjoyed by someone like me who is interested in Maya Angelou. Besides being a strong portrait of her mother, it ends up being a strong portrait of herself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Maya Angelou is one of my favorite authors and I have read everything she has released. That said, I was very happy to receive this book as part of the Early Reviewers program. Each autobiographical book she has released has drawn a picture of her life that is complete within the defines of the book, and this is no difference.While she had previously mentioned her mother and described certain interactions, Mon & Me & Mom goes more into the mother daughter relationship she had with her mother and how that, along with the lack of interaction in her early youth, shaped the type of relationship Maya had with her son. Her mother Vivian's determination and conviction that she could do anything showed Maya that nothing you want is out of your reach. Through the stories in the book, you could see Maya's view of her mother changing and how it helped her grow into the woman she is now.This is definitely a book worth the read foranyone who has followed Ms. Angelou's life through her other autobiographies and for anyone who just wants an inside look at the Mother/Daughter dynamic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The only other book of Maya Angelou's that I have is her inaugural poem, Phenomenal Woman. I was overjoyed to get this book, Mom & Me & Mom, but was unfamiliar with her prose and thought that it could not live up to her poetry. With her, however, her prose is as poetic as her poetry speaking. I lived the life and loved the complex and true life of a wonderful person. I can't say as much about it as I would like, or I would take pages, which nobody would read. My only comment is to suggest you read the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When I got the advance copy of this memoir and held it in my hands, I was overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy. How could I possibly have the right to review a book by such an American icon as Maya Angelou?! That could hardly be fair to her. When I spoke to my son about this dilemma, he simply said, "She writes for everyone. You are her audience. I never had the feeling of reading Ms Angelou's book. I didn't remember turning pages. I was never conscious of chapter numbers. Instead it was as if I absorbed the book. That is a hallmark of an accomplished storyteller. All mother-daughter relationships are intricate and complex. All mothers and daughters have issues. As I read I couldn't help but draw contrasts and comparisons to my and my mother's relationship. So this book led me to insights about our own relationship. There is the question, though, of how much the truth of Ms Angelou's relationship with her mother has been embellished and elaborated on by Ms Angelou's monumental talent. Memories are famous for being fragmentary, elusive and sometimes completely mistaken. Yet, I felt the truth of her story was radiant.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My very first thought when seeing this newest autobiography of Angelou's was to ask myself, "This is the seventh autobiography. How much more can she reveal about her life?" But, then I realized this recent publication focuses more on her mother unlike any other autobiography of its kind. The language simple yet straight forward and honest. Angelou delivers this memoir with emotion that ranges from early anger over her mother's abandonment to utter admiration and respect. Throughout it all her mother delivers an almost a tongue-in-cheek attitude that is both humorous and brave given the climate of the racial times. It was joyful to watch how close mother and daughter truly became; how they were there for each other through it all.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book! I have loved and read Maya's Poems and watched her speak but I had no idea how interesting and colorful her relationships with Her Mom's were. After reading about what a interesting life Maya has had I understand Her poems more and see where Her inspiration comes from. It was a great read and I think Mothers and Daughters should read it together and discuss what the book teaches them about their own relationships,
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It is no great surprise that Maya Angelou's newest book, Mom & Me & Mom, is as beautifully written and engaging as her other work. In this memoir Angelou focusses on Vivian "Lady" Baxter, the mother who abandoned her at age four and then reclaimed her from her paternal grandmother when she was thirteen. Saying that Lady Baxter was far from a typical mother is an understatement. She was an elegant woman who owned gambling houses, drank and smoked, and was not afraid to fight for the things she wanted. She demanded honesty from her children and fought fiercely for them. She helped countless others, as well, although her methods were at times unconventional. Lady Baxter had strong beliefs and she acted on them. I was particularly amused by the description of her visit to a newly integrated hotel in Fresno, California. She imperiously checked in and had the bell caps carry their luggage to their rooms. When she opened her suitcase, Maya was surprised to see a .38 revolver lying on top of her clothes. Her explanation was matter of fact," If they were not ready for integration, I was ready to show it to them. Baby, be ready for every situation you run into...do what is right and then be ready to back it up even with your life." The book painted a portrait of Lady Baxter's impressive character, but it was equally insightful as to how her strength and compassion helped shape Maya Angelou into the dynamic woman she is.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Maya Angelou has the ability to write tough episodes in her life with an even-handedness. She does not wallow in them, neither is she emotionally distant. She also understands the gifts life has offered her, and what she has done with them. Her mother abandoned her when she was three. She was raised until 13 by her grandmother, and then returned to her mother. Moving into adulthood, she came to understand that she had an amazing mother – one capable of exceptional mentoring of a young adult and mature woman, though incapable of raising a small child. This is a book I am glad to have in audio, and will listen to again.Favorite quotes:At a point where someone was honoring her, she said to him, “Don’t kneel, please. Sometimes people put people on pedestals so they can see them more clearly and knock them off more easily. Get up.”“My mother spoke highly of me and to me. … She had my back, supported me. This is the role of the mother, and in that visit I really saw clearly, and for the first time, why a mother is really important. Not just because she feeds and also loves and cuddles and even mollycoddles a child, but because in an interesting and maybe eerie and unworldly way, she stands in the gap. She stands between the unknown and the known. In Stockholm, my mother shed her protective love down and around me, and without knowing why people sensed that I had value.”
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If one pays attention to popular culture, watched the 2008 inauguration of President Barack Obama or ever caught an occasional episode of Oprah, it would be difficult to be unfamiliar with Dr. Maya Angelou. Truly a renaissance woman, her website biography refers to her as “a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.” Surely she is all of these things, but at the core of who she is, Angelou is a daughter and a mother. It is these aspects of her life to which MOM & ME & MOM speaks.MOM & ME & MOM is a love letter to Angelou’s deceased mother, the woman who gifted her with the courage to become all that she has. This latest installment in her multi-part autobiography and memoir which began with the 1970 publication of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings explores the sometimes difficult but always loving relationships Angelou shared with her mother—plural because it felt though multiple but distinct threads were woven together, each defined by Angelou’s age or by what she needed from her mother at a given point in time.The life of a woman who has achieved as much as Dr. Angelou is inherently fascinating, and this slice of her life does not disappoint. Angelou spotlights her mother as her protector and her refuge. From her mother, she gained strength, courage, determination, street savvy, and the ability to define herself first as a woman, then as a mother.Angelou’s early years were split between her mother and her grandmother, an abandonment felt long into Angelou’s life and one that informed her own parenting decisions. Yet after reuniting with her mother, when she discovers that she too will be a mother, there is no one better for her to turn to for support than her own mother, despite their differences. Angelou doesn’t judge her mother’s choices. Rather, she considers how they impacted her decisions and her feelings for her mother at various points. And like the good daughter she was raised to be, when her mother needed her, she was there for her mother, just as her mother had been for her, more often than not.One hears Angelou’s unique voice and cadence when reading MOM & ME & MOM which adds to the reading enjoyment. Reading this book very close to Mother’s Day made me yearn for my mother who is still alive yet many miles away. MOM & ME & MOM is a funny, poignant, introspective read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    There is a saying, both a curse and a blessing, that is something like “may you have an interesting life.” Maya Angelou has certainly had an interesting life, and that has probably been both a curse and a blessing.I know her writing mostly from her beautiful I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, although it has been decades since I read it, and from her equally beautiful poetry.She has multiple autobiographical writings, and this newest one tells more of her relationship with her mother, and to a lesser extent, with her grandmother. And it is not always a pretty story.I admire Ms. Angelou and I am glad I read this short little book. However, the writing didn't live up to my expectations of her. While interesting to me, it didn't have the lyricism I know she can write. And there were inexplicable gaps that left me wondering. She talks of her mother and her mother's current husband, and another “Papa” who lives in the house. Then suddenly, her mother moves, and no explanation is given. Initially, we don't know if she was still with those people so close to her. What happened? At another place in the story, she speaks of the merchant marines with whom her mother sailed. Huh? It wasn't until later in the book that was explained. She spoke of being a CME, and I may be the only person in the world who doesn't know what that means, but an explanation would have helped.Some of the writing is wonderful, but much left me wanting more, more of her life, more of her talent, more satisfaction, just more.I was given an advance reader's copy of this book through LibraryThing.