Though this is Angelou’s seventh autobiography
but it’s the first time delving into the complex relationship between she and
her mother, Vivian Baxter. This book chronicles their 60-year relationship from
California to New York City to Europe to Winston-Salem and Baxter’s impact upon
Maya as an adult. After divorcing her father sent Maya and her older brother,
Bailey, to love with their paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, for 10
years. Upon returning to California Maya was filled with so much rage that for
the first two weeks she didn’t even address Vivian. The day her grandmother was leaving for
Arkansas, she asked Maya how she would address Vivian. Maya replied’ Lady’. The
title stuck. Maya wouldn’t call Vivian ‘mother’ until she helped Maya deliver
her son, Guy.
Mom
& Me & Mom differs from all of her other autobiographies because of
its referential tone. Having read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings there’s
a difference. Even having celebrated her
85th birthday this past April 4th, Angelou writes as if
she, too, is still learning the lessons that Lady dispensed. Mom & Me & Mom showcases Lady’s
evolution from reluctant mother, thug and gambler parlor manager to warm,
loving, matriarch not just of her family but the entire Stockton, California
community. In the beginning, when Maya
was abused by a boyfriend, Lady used her underworld connections to find
him. Later in life when a Stockton city
employee arrived on her doorstep telling her about a family forced to sleep in
their car, Lady allowed them to shop her garage full of donated clothing and
shower in her house. The city honored
her with a commemorative plaque for her charity.
This is what makes Mom & Me & Mom so memorable
because it espouses the importance of her parents must change their style once
their children reach adulthood. Angelou admits that Lade ways a horrible mother
as a child but a magnificent one as a woman. Whether or not your child is a
superstar or note, it serves as a map on how to navigate those murky waters.
