This book is such a breathtaking retelling of Marguerite Johnson’s life, from growing up in Stamps with her grandma and pops to living with her biological parents in her teen years and witnessing everything from racism, sexual abuse, womanhood, homelessness, and the black hunger for capitalistic freedom and opportunity in 20th century America. Maya Angelou has a delicious way of writing that makes me feel like a school kid in Arkansas with her, and both versions of the book—-print and audiobook—are a delight. Because the writing is very lackadaisical it might be difficult to read through this quickly—-I recommend taking at least a week to read and process everything. Her Bildungsroman memoir is so powerful and the ending perfectly captures her claim to her own future.