Every month, the Scoop hosts our 60-second book club, where we invite you to take a quick peek inside a buzzed-about new book and let us know what you think. This month’s pick: Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou.
If you and your mom are more like oil and water than peanut butter and jelly, there is hope that you’ll be able to cultivate your bond—at least, if Maya Angelou’s history is any indication. In her new memoir, Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou shares how she went from refusing to call her mom “mother” to holding the woman’s hand as much as possible during the last months of her life.
Vivan Baxter, mother of the famed writer, left Angelou and her brother, Bailey, with their grandmother when the children were 3 and 5, respectively. The children wouldn’t see their mother again until 10 years later.
Angelou recounts being skeptical of Baxter when they first reunited, wondering to Bailey why their mother had abandoned them:
“My brother and I have a question we must ask you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
She said, “I know that all I really have to do is stay black and die. So, what is your question?”
“Why did you send us away, and why didn’t you come back and get us?”
She said, “Sit down, children.”
Bailey held a chair for me and we both sat down.
“Your father and I began to dislike each other almost as soon as we got married. Then both of you were born and we had to think about what we would do with you. We tried for nearly a year but we realized there was nothing that could keep us together. His mother wrote to us and said to send the children to her. When we got her letter, we went out, and for the first time in a year, we had an evening without cursing each other out and slamming out of a restaurant.”
She started to smile. “I missed you but I knew you were in the best place for you. I would have been a terrible mother. I had no patience. Maya, when you were about two years old, you asked me for something. I was busy talking, so you hit my hand, and I slapped you off the porch without thinking. It didn’t mean I didn’t love you; it just meant I wasn’t ready to be a mother. I’m explaining to you, not apologizing. We would have all been sorry had I kept you.”
Baxter’s total honesty—and unwavering loyalty—are a big part of the reason that Angelou soon “came to adore” her mother.
The book also explains how Angelou went from growing up in racist, impoverished conditions to becoming such a prolific writer. It’s perfect for some inspirational weekend reading—or a last-minute Mother’s Day gift.
Have you read the book? Are you going through a rough patch with your mom? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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