Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me

Written by Maya Angelou as a personal and touching Mother's Day salute, this tiny volume of poetry will truly make every day Mother's Day for any woman who reads it, be she a mother or a daughter. In a mere ten pages of text, the author traces and illuminates the complex mother/daughter relationship from conception ("I was created in you...you were created for me") through clinging, fretful babyhood, the turbulent teen years and adult understanding. My favorite lines: You were always The heart of happiness to me, Bringing nougats of glee, Sweets of open laughter. Angelou's little book is a gift to delight. by Patricia Nordyke Pando for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

I have never written a review, I'm the person who always reads but never writes. I saw that this book didn't have 5 stars average so I had to review it. Becoming a mother is the most miraculous and blessed thing that has ever happened to me - most Mothers will agree. This book pulled at my heart as it captured that love between me and my Son so perfectly. I read this book and cry every time. I will buy this book for each of my friends as they have their first children. Never has a book been so meaningful to me.

If you have followed Dr. Maya Angelou in all the years that I have followed her work since younghood, you may not get what is happening here. Maya has claimed her rights of passage from youth to a seasoned mature adult who has stood the test of time, survived all obstacles and is still standing. A book any longer than 10 pages would not resemble the message of this great poet of our time. Perhaps, it is a silent protest we know nothing about and never will. Dr. Maya Angelou is 78 years old. If she writes another full book it will take all she can give. She is well to all who see her, but to friends and family, we see that gloss in her eye, the slowness of her stride these days, and will power to talk when in pain. We must treasure these moments and wish Dr. Maya the strength to keep going until she is one hundred. She was meant to span a century and is deserving of peace, plenty of rest and I hope everything her heart desires in life and even it is just to still be admired for her work as a poet. This is the MAYA we know and love. THIS WOMAN'S WORK! is meant to be written as her destiny has been planned. Can you imagine carpal tunnel syndrome, an aching leg from being one of the greatest dancers, all of those movies she's produced...people she's helped, speeches she's completed and places she's traveled, not to mention her struggle for the intellectual rise of Black people in this nation. She paved the way for so many and like Jesus who was admired and than cast and stoned, I am routing for Dr. Maya to not have to succumb to society's way of destroying the ambition of successful Black Americans. Dr. Maya Shall NOT be moved. Listen, be wise and learn from MOTHER. I see a message, but one has to stand very still and LISTEN!!!!!

Motherhood is colorblind, but it's especially apt that the 78-year-old Maya Angelou sings praises for The Beleaguered Black Mother. Not only is the content delicious, but the unpaginated 10-page slender vanilla volume is elegantly designed. Rather than plow through a tome of childhood psychology, the reader gains four minutes of insights on mothering from birth through emancipation as an adult. Cliches are rescued by gems such as "nougats of glee" and "from my high perch of teenage wisdom." This is sentimentality at its best. How could it be otherwise, Dear Mother!

This book is truly beautiful. As a mother it warmed my heart to know that a strong women like Maya would write a book like this. "Perfect for Mother's Day"