Mom & Me & Mom

By: Maya Angelou

Narrated by: Maya Angelou

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. 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.

©2013 Maya Angelou (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Angelou is one of the geniuses of Afro-American serial autobiography." ( The New York Times)

"To say that Angelou is a living legend is in no way an exaggeration. [She is] one of the great voices of contemporary literature." ( The Voice)

"Maya Angelou regards the world and herself with intelligence and wit; she records the events of her life with style and grace." ( The Washington Post Book World)

WONERFUL READ

If you could sum up Mom & Me & Mom in three words, what would they be?

HEART WARMING , FUNNY EMOTIONAL

What did you like best about this story?

THE TRUTH OF IT ALL

What does Maya Angelou bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

REALISM

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Her connection with her Mother at the end.

Any additional comments?

This truly is an awesome books for the ladies that may or may not have close realationships with their mothers. it opens the listners eyes to a world inside Maya Angelous world that you would have never known extisted.

Mother "Lady's" influence on Angelou's development

Maya Angelou has written another in a series of autobiographical books about her life. In this one, she describes the complicated and unpredictable relationship with her mother, whom she referred to for many years as “Lady.”

In her hallmark terse style of writing, she describes how she and her brother were sent to her paternal grandmother’s in Arkansas for several years, where she found a sense of security, even though recovering from the trauma of childhood rape.

There came a time when she and her brother were unexpectedly sent back to live with their mother—something that young Maya was not prepared for. But, Lady, their mother, seemed determined to find a way for herself and Maya to achieve a close mother-daughter relationship (often in spite of themselves) as they had to get to know, and get used to each other. Lady was determined to show Maya that even though she had not been present in her early life, she would never let her down after that. However, she tended to use unconventional--but often wise--ways of offering that support.

This book explores the journey—often filled with dangerous, unexpected circumstances—through which Maya and her mother learned to find a kind of trust and caring for each other. Lady had had a very involved--even exciting--existence apart from having children, and seemed to have to make room in her life for Maya and her brother. But over time, mother and daughter come to care deeply about each other and form a bond that eventually leads Maya finally to call her “Mother.”

Clearly many of the incidents in this book—often involving danger of various kinds—were influential in shaping Maya Angelou’s subsequent life. Her mother taught her to protect herself, but also to live her life proudly, to the fullest and never doubt herself. This is a very interesting story—one courageously told by one of America’s most beloved and respected writers. Recommend!

I would've loved to have met Vivian Baxter

Deliriously amazing in content. I smiled and cried then smiled again. LOVE heals. xoxoxoxo :-) :-)

Loved it!!

Love it!! I really enjoyed Maya Angelou narrating the book. Look forward to getting another.

A must read for mothers and daughters

This book will touch the heart of any woman who is a mother and any woman who has a mother!

Highly recommended

It was riveting to learn about the good and bad in her life, but most comforting to hear it through her voice.

wonderful story!

Loved the book. It's a library favorite! Maya writes with straight forward love and loyalty!

Loved it!

I loved this book so much, I bought two books for my daughters. It's a wonderful story about how complex yet simple a mother/ daughter relationship is. Even though it was a little difficult to listen to the narrator (Ms. Angelou), I quickly got past it because the story was captivating. It's short, but well worth it. I even listened twice in a row because I just wasn't ready for it to be over yet.

A must listen

I listen to this book whenever *I* need some mothering. Maya Angelou truly brought her whole self to this ♥️🙏🏼

Heartbreaking

the real story between a mother and her daughter and the nature of motherhood. Not superficial but kept it real.