Letter to My Daughter

With the careful phrasing and emphatic pacing of a poet, Angelou offers her meditations on life to the many daughters she's never had--yet considers to be her extended family. Angelou's voice is deep and distinctive, yet familiar sounding, and her wide-ranging, often autobiographical reflections on life provide much food for thought. Listening, one imagines her picking her way, serenely, across a sometimes-stony but often unexpectedly delightful road. Whether she's reminiscing about family, race, intercultural embarrassment, or losing loved ones, Angelou is thoughtful but not preachy, wise but never heavy-handed. This collection of essays cuts across the genre, defying easy categorization. Part poem, part memoir (there's even a little song tucked in), the production, unified by Angelou's marvelously distinctive and original voice, is wholly delightful. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine


With the careful phrasing and emphatic pacing of a poet, Angelou offers her meditations on life to the many daughters she's never had--yet considers to be her extended family. Angelou's voice is deep and distinctive, yet familiar sounding, and her wide-ranging, often autobiographical reflections on life provide much food for thought. Listening, one imagines her picking her way, serenely, across a sometimes-stony but often unexpectedly delightful road. Whether she's reminiscing about family, race, intercultural embarrassment, or losing loved ones, Angelou is thoughtful but not preachy, wise but never heavy-handed. This collection of essays cuts across the genre, defying easy categorization. Part poem, part memoir (there's even a little song tucked in), the production, unified by Angelou's marvelously distinctive and original voice, is wholly delightful. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Finalist (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

September 22, 2008
From the mellifluous voice of a venerable American icon comes her first original collection of writing to be published in ten years, anecdotal vignettes drawn from a compelling life and written in Angelou's erudite prose. Beginning with her childhood, Angelou acknowledges her own inauguration into daughterhood in "Philanthropy," recalling the first time her mother called her "my daughter." Angelou becomes a mother herself at an early age, after a meaningless first sexual experience: "Nine months later I had a beautiful baby boy. The birth of my son caused me to develop enough courage to invent my life." Fearlessly sharing amusing, if somewhat embarrassing, moments in "Senegal," the mature Angelou is cosmopolitan but still capable of making a mistake: invited to a dinner party while visiting the African nation, Angelou becomes irritated that none of the guests will step on a lovely carpet laid out in the center of the room, so she takes it upon herself to cross the carpet, only to discover the carpet is a table cloth that had been laid out in honor of her visit. The wisdom in this slight volume feels light and familiar, but it's also earnest and offered with warmth.