A great American classic, Maya Angelou’s powerful and perceptive memoir forged a path for Black American women’s writing and made her an international icon. Written in 1969, it recounts Angelou’s early experiences as a woman of colour in the segregated Deep South where, surrounded by bigotry and poverty, daily life was lived on a knife-edge. She experiences the joys and sorrows of Black American life, but with grit and determination, and the warmth of the community that raised her, Angelou forges a different life for herself. Her growth into womanhood finally becomes one of celebration and achievement.