Captivating! The writing is engaging and lively, taking you on a tour of the US Civil Rights Movement and the independence movement in Africa. Amongst it all there’s honesty and humour, and complicated relationships at home.

Some famous names that make an appearance in this one are too good not to share: MLK, Malcom X, James Baldwin, Billie Holiday.

Give me the next one

Really enjoyed this volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography. Her writing is truthful and beautiful. I felt that I could relate to her as she discovered more about herself through her life experiences. Her depiction of her romantic relationships with the men she encountered at that point in her life, spoke to me as a woman forging a life for herself that is autonomous.

This is my first work of Maya’s to read and it got me thinking why I waited for so long. Got the book as a thrift find on a night market and I am so glad I picked it up and decided to buy it.

Maya tells us her story in such a honest way that she doesn’t shy away from admitting her vulnerabilities and mistakes which I found as a great way to make us relate to her. In this volume she shares a lot about how she had to socially struggle to get on her feet even when introduced to new cultures. There’s a mix of her being a loving mother, a learning daughter, a wife to men with very different ideologies about life, a struggling singer, a great worker and so much more that makes her a woman.

I was also fascinated with her encounters with both Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X which in turn gave me an insight of how different they were yet their goal similar. If you are a young reader as I, you will end up thinking of getting their bios as well.

Oh and i loved that the ending made me laugh despite everything. A 4.5 on my end.

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. I read the first four in this series and I'm just inspired and in awe of her. I knew I wanted to carry on with this series and learn more about her life.

This book is the fourth of seven volumes of Maya Angelou’s autobiography. It is a testament to the talents and resilience of this writer. She knows that this world has love as well as cruelty. As a black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration. In this book Maya focused on her work in becoming a writer and the artists in Harlem, as well as working in the civil rights movements with Martin Luther King Jr.

Usually I struggle with non-fiction books, I find them slow, boring and I can never really dig into them and thoroughly enjoy it. However, this book I managed to enjoy. This book still discusses serious and difficult topics but it’s a journey of her finding her voice and becoming a writer. It’s almost as if she was writing about a fiction character in a storyline that I had to remind myself several times that she was the main character she is talking about and that she is talking about her life. She was talking about the struggles of being a woman in 1957 to 1962. The fact that her son is growing up and she is wanting to find herself and then she just gets used by men just broke my heart. I really want her and her son to be happy and at peace. This book wasn’t as heavy has her other books and I think that’s because a portion of the book is her discussing her career and the movement of Martin Luther King Jr. I would have loved to see some chapters from her son as he was at an age where he remembers it now, especially when the ending was about him getting injured.

Again, with the previous book when it gets towards the end it feels rushed. I think it’s the gripping factor to get you to read the next book. I am sort of hoping with me having three books left in this series that this stops and comes to a point because I am hoping that she finds happiness and peace.

Maya Angelou led an extraordinary life and she was an extraordinary woman. I was completely stupefied to read of her many loves, and how she traveled the world. She speaks of her activism and clearly defines herself first and foremost as an activist. And she had an amazing gift in her writing skills. She brings the reader in to her story, and you will never think of her in the same way again!

Maya Angelou's an amazing writer but I think we all know that. This is her 4th book in her 7-autobio series. The Maya in this book is about 30, already an established adult, successful mother, intense lover, civil rights activist and traveller. What a brilliant life she had! Her writing is clear and easy to follow. She wrote about many things - identity, race, discrimination, struggles between men and women, differences between USA and Africa, motherhood and her general outlook about how things were. Finished reading this feeling quite happy.

Book number four of Maya’s amazing adventurous life. I’m seriously in awe of Maya’s experiences. From the places she’s traveled to the people she’s met, what a wild and inspiring ride! There is so much history included in this book. I think everyone should read her autobiography.

If throwing caution to the wind was a person. This would be her.

Her world is so rich and colourful, she doesn't necessarily seek out the colours and richness. She makes decisions that naturally fall that way. The thought process and strategy behind each decision. From protecting Guy from neighbourhood hoodlums to protecting him from unhealthy thoughts and feeling for her a mother.

In her description of Mr Make. I enjoyed that the feelings and emotions for the mam were to convey how she felt. She does not attempt to, somehow make the reader fall in love with him too. I believe she does this a not with her son Guy though. I don't like Mr Make. I don't know what it is about him that she found attractive. He is everything I absolutely reject in African men. The entitlement to a woman's freedom. The control and subservience. Perhaps he was merely a channel to Guy and mama Maya having their time in Africa.

The racism. I'm in 2021 and here we are still fighting the same battles. There is something more sad about how Americans experience racism. It's the loss of their names and ancestry along the lines that I think is so affecting. And having them be known by the names of those who enslaved them. Its very hard. I think we take that for granted a little in Africa.

I love this book. I enjoyed it even more second time around.

Is there anyone Ms Angelou didn’t cross paths with?!

Fascinating life; looking forward to the fifth instalment.

2.5