A review by thetomatowriter
Gather Together in My Name by Maya Angelou
4.0
My mom passed down tons of Maya Angelou books to me when I moved to Louisville, but I actually didn't know that she had a series of memoirs (following I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings) and that I already own most of them. I just assumed that most of what I owned were poetry and essay books. So when I went out to start All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, I realized that it was one of the latter books in the series and I still needed to read Gather Together In My Name.
I think this book came into my life at kind of the right moment. This book is about Angelou navigating new adulthood, trying to get solid footing both financially and individually. Trying to find love and belonging and often settling for less because she's so starved for it. Getting a sense of what she feels and believes about the world. Her early adulthood has been very different from my early adulthood, of course, but the heart of the book I think is very relevant. It has a little bit to do with her family, but less than the other books. This is about Angelou figuring out herself, and balancing motherhood with work and love and all the rest.
There's not much to say about it critically. She wrote some truth about her life. She wrote with the kind of conviction that the truth of it was undeniable. She didn't pull punches but she didn't dwell on only the dark, either. I mean, she's Maya Angelou. She's an amazing writer and person. I don't think there's much I can say about that that hasn't already been said.
I think this book came into my life at kind of the right moment. This book is about Angelou navigating new adulthood, trying to get solid footing both financially and individually. Trying to find love and belonging and often settling for less because she's so starved for it. Getting a sense of what she feels and believes about the world. Her early adulthood has been very different from my early adulthood, of course, but the heart of the book I think is very relevant. It has a little bit to do with her family, but less than the other books. This is about Angelou figuring out herself, and balancing motherhood with work and love and all the rest.
There's not much to say about it critically. She wrote some truth about her life. She wrote with the kind of conviction that the truth of it was undeniable. She didn't pull punches but she didn't dwell on only the dark, either. I mean, she's Maya Angelou. She's an amazing writer and person. I don't think there's much I can say about that that hasn't already been said.