Book Review: Letter to My Daughter

Title	Letter to My Daughter
Author	Maya Angelou
Rating
Tags	maya angelou, short pieces
	A series of short pieces, most no more than two pages long, including bits of autobiography, essays, and poetry. The theme is things written for the daughter she never had, and to all the women she considers in some ways daughters. She speaks of having her son at age 16, of being beaten and saved by prayer, perhaps, and of many other things. One piece is about Fannie Lou Hamer, who has been a hero of mine since reading about her in various books on the Civil Rights movement. There was one quote that touched me a lot, and I repeat it here: "Many things continue to amaze me, even well into my seventh decade. I'm startled or at least taken aback when people walk up to me and without being questioned inform me that they are Christians. My first response is the question, 'Already?' It seems to me that becoming a Christian is a lifelong endeavor. I believe that is also true of one wanting to become a Buddhist, or a Muslim, a Jew, Jainist, or Taoist. The persons striving to live their religious beliefs know that the idyllic condition cannot be arrived at and held onto eternally. It is in the search itself that one finds the ecstasy." (p. 165) The book is recommended for a fast and inspiring read.
Publication	Random House (2008), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 192 pages
Publication date	2008
ISBN	1400066123 / 9781400066124