A review by octavia_cade
Mom and Me and Mom by Maya Angelou

emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

I read Angelou's Caged Bird some time back and thought it was outstanding, so when I discovered this in my local library - another memoir, though much different in focus - I knew I wanted to read it. It's very strongly focused on Angelou's relationship with her mother Vivian Baxter; how Angelou returned to her care after spending most of her childhood being looked after by her grandmother, and how their relationship changed over the decades. As Angelou points out, at the end of the book, Baxter was a "terrible" mother of small children, but an excellent mother of young adults. 

And honestly... some ages are just easier than others. I say that never having been a parent, but the reason I've never been a parent is that I really don't think I could tolerate toddlers all that well. Being trapped with them for years at a time sounds like absolute hell - even if those years are necessary and soon over. Older kids are much more tolerable. So I did feel a lot of sympathy for Baxter there, but then she is an immensely sympathetic person. Charismatic, kind, generous... she clearly loves her daughter very much indeed, and proves to be a tremendous support to her. It makes for a very warm and positive read.