Average customer rating:
- The Urban Book Source
- The Heart of a Woman Laid Bare
- disappointed
- A must read!
- Americans do not know how good they have it
|
The Heart of a Woman (Oprah's Book Club)
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
African-American & Black
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Angelou, Maya
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
African American
| Poetry
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Angelou, Maya
| ( A )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
-
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
-
The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
-
Gather Together in My Name
-
Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women
ASIN: 0375500723
Release Date: 1997-05-17 |
Amazon.com
Millions have read Maya Angelou's national bestseller The Heart of a Woman, and now you can hear her fascinating story in the author's own voice. Angelou exposes a turbulent period of her life as she struggles to raise a child, fulfill her goals as a writer, and fight for civil rights in an age of social injustice; Angelou's rich and resonating voice draws the listener into the unexpected details of her life. Working as a nightclub singer in Los Angeles, Angelou decides to move to New York with her son Guy in hopes of building stronger ties with the black art community. In an attempt to find stability for Guy and make a name for herself, her love life takes wild turns. Should she marry the bail bondsman who's as dry as stale bread or run away with the African freedom fighter? Her heart takes her to Africa, where her writing career blossoms but her marriage sours. The Heart of a Woman is filled with beautiful prose and songs; Angelou displays her music talent in several vignettes, most memorably in a scene with Billie Holiday: Angelou is performing at a nightclub when Holiday shrieks, "Stop her, stop her... she sounds like my mama!"
Book Description
In The Heart of a Woman Maya Angelou leaves California with her son, Guy, to go to New York. There she enters the society and world of black artists and writers. Not since her childhood has she lived in an almost black environment, and she is surprised at the obsession her new friends have with the white world around them. She stays for a while with John and Grace Killens and begins to read her writing at the Harlem Writers Guild. She continues to sing, most notably at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, but more and more she begins to take part in the struggle of black Americans for their rightful place in the world. She helps organize a benefit cabaret for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and then is appointed Martin Luther Kings Northern Coordinator.
Shortly after that, through her friend Abbey Lincoln, she takes one of the lead parts in Genet's The Blacks (it was a remarkable cast, including Godfrey Cambridge, Roscoe Lee Brown, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Raymond St. Jacques, and Lou Gossett), and even writes music for the production.
In the meantime her personal life has taken a tempestuous turn. She has left the New York bail bondsman she was intending to marry and has fallen in love with a South African freedom fighter named Vusumzi Make, who sweeps her off her feet and eventually takes her to London and then to Cairo, where, as her marriage begins to break up, she becomes the first female editor of the English-language magazine.
The Heart of a Woman is filled with unforgettable vignettes of famous people, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X, but perhaps most important is the story of Maya Angelou's relationship with her son. Because this book chronicles, finally, the joys and the burdens of a black mother in America and how the son she had cherished so intensely and worked for so devotedly finally grows to be a man.
Customer Reviews:
The Urban Book Source.......2007-08-13
Another slice of Maya Angleou's memoir, The Heart of a Woman, brings you through her hardships of raising her son Guy in California and continues during her move to New York City, her stint in the Harlem Writers guild, her intimate involvement in the Civil Rights movement, her marriage to South African Freedom Fighter, Vusumzi Make and subsequent move to Egypt, Ghana and ultimate divorce. A book that will speak to men and women on all levels, The Heart of a Woman is truly a phenomenal read.
The Heart of a Woman Laid Bare.......2007-08-06
I have just finished The Heart of a Woman and I could not put it down once I started it. Angelou lays bare for all of her readers her heart, her life and her truth. What an amazing life she has lived. I read some reviews that criticized her for her honesty in regards to whites during the 60s. It was the 60s, racial barriers where still up strong and bared anyone of color from living the lives they so richly deserved, why should she be criticized for this? Would it be better that she lied and said how wonderful life was for blacks in this country during that time? It wasn't and that is the point that she is making in this book. That is the point that she is making as an African American woman, called to the forefront in the battle of discrimination.
I had to look on the cover to see when she wrote this book, it was 1981, how sad that in 26yrs we still see white America carrying the flag of superiority! I am truly glad that Angelou is still walking this earth to see that though the gains for civil rights are slow coming they are coming,regardless of what her criticizers are saying. Because if they are criticizing her for telling it like it was, then there is still a long path to journey to get us beyond the need for civil rights.
If you want to know what the 60's Civil Rights movement & Aparthied in South Africa was about this book will give you an accurate picture of one womans involvement. Two thumbs up for Angelou!
disappointed.......2007-06-14
The heart of a woman was not an easy read for me, i just couldn't get into it, it did not grab my attention.
A must read!.......2006-11-16
'The Heart of a Woman' is as extraordinary as its author.
A brilliant lady who overcame incredible odds to make life for others, especially woman, a place where they did not have to feel like "second clas citizens".
Americans do not know how good they have it.......2006-08-22
I was born and raised in India on the wrong side of the caste system. I worked hard to become educated and to come to America. Perhaps in the 1960s, America was not as fair as it is now, but it was still better than anywhere else. I find books like this, where people whine about the amount of melanin in their skin, offensive. Angelou comments often about how much she hates white people. This is stupid and it shows how uneducated she still is.
If she had written this in the 1960s, in the throes of it, it might be interesting as a historical piece, but now it just shows how racist she it. I'll bet she hates Asians, too. Even when she was abandoned in Egypt by a man she wrongly called her "husband," (even though they weren't married,) she wouldn't go to the American embassy for help because white people worked there. Every slight in her life, she attributes to white people being racist because she is black.
This book is filled with name-dropping and smug anger.
Minna
Book Description
"Elvia Alvarado tells the story of her life and the life of the people of Honduras. Read it and understand the struggle against tyranny of the poor. Read it and act."--Alice Walker
Customer Reviews:
GOOD.......2006-07-13
It was good and very informative. The only problem is it was out dated.
A realistic account.......2006-01-23
Reading this book, it's important to remember that it wasn't written by someone with a formal, "liberal arts" education. That said, you need to use your own judgement to decide what's perhaps "biased", and what's not. Remember though, that whatever bias exists, exists for a reason, and should be taken in the context of what was going on at the time, as well as within the author's background. This isn't to say she's wrong, but in fact is correct on most issues, you just need to ensure that YOU the reader, are well versed on the subject (or are willing to become so) before reading this book. From my own experiences in the country, Alvarado seems dead on. Remember too, that the author has put herself in real peril to bring you this account, so plan on counting your blessings as you read.
Good Culture Reference.......2004-12-02
I read this book in order to learn something about the people
of Honduras and how they live. I found it to be a good source
for learning about the lives of "campasinos"...peasants.. and
their struggle to live and raise their families in general.
It was not such a good source for learning about this country's
small middle class and since the author's struggle is with the rich,
all references to them were in a negative light... so it was not necessarily an unbiased resource for learning about them.
A real joy.......2004-05-21
This book is beautiful and will inspire you and remind you of what is important in life.
the further you stay clear of Medea Benjamin the better.......2004-03-05
Medea B Wouldn't know justice if it bit her. She has called cuba a paradise where friends of mine are under house watch or have served severe prison terms just for political organization!
Book Description
Book 3 of bestselling Shenandoah Sisters. Katie, the daughter of a plantation owner, and Mayme, the daughter of a slave, find themselves with only each other after the Civil War. They devise a scheme to keep Katie's plantation going, disguising the fact they are all alone. Now in book three, the girls face new threats to their security. A long-lost uncle appears and then disappears as suddenly, taking their secret with them. Then a flood threatens to destroy the remaining cotton crop they need to save the plantation from foreclosure. Filled with fascinating period details, challenging questions of faith, and heartwarming friendship, this series has all the elements historical fiction fans love.
Customer Reviews:
Uplifting stories.......2007-06-07
Book 3 in the Shenandoah Sisters series is the most exciting of the 4. This is a sweet and uplifting story about growing up and making the best of sometimes unfortunate circumstances. This is a good book for anyone, but especially for young Christian women.
Good plot but a few dislikes!.......2006-05-10
This 3rd book in the Shenandoah Sisters has a good plot and for the most part is good.But I did not like the violence and the lying.Have we forgot the Ten Commandments:"Thou shalt not kill."?And in the Epistles"Lie not one to another"?It is just wrong!The truth will always stand the thing is when will you beleive it?
Powerful writing, couple of weak plots points.......2005-09-26
This is another wonderful entry in the Shenandoah Sisters series. Together Katie, Mayme, Emma, and Aleta are doing well running the plantation until men after Uncle Ward's gold interfere. The writing was again powerful and moving. I love the relationship between all of the girls, because it was well developed and rich. I was a little disappointed in a certain plot device I won't specifically name for spoilers sake. It seemed a bit of a stretch, although Mayme's reaction to it was amazing, and something I had never thought of before. I was also glad to see that Phillips didn't give in to another plot device by killing Uncle Templeton. I'm very curious to see how the next book will be with the additional of an adult to the household, plus the interference of another uncle. Henry is a powerful character that I enjoy reading about, but I don't believe that I ever saw Mayme tell Henry and Jeremiah about her ancestry. Their reactions were missing in an otherwise strong book.
Shenandoah Sisters III.......2005-04-04
What a unique way to view the reconstruction period after the Civil War but through the eyes of young people affected with the changes the war brought about.
The third book in this series is full of suspense, distressing moments and a time of truth for Katie, the Rosewood Plantation's 16 year old mistress and for Mayme,17, a former slave. In this book they must face flood waters, thieving evil men and Uncle Templeton. Katie and Mayme finally allow Henry and Jeremiah into their secret about the plantation only being run by four girls. They promise to look out for them and to keep their secret.
Mayme had heard Katie talk about her drifter Uncle Templeton, but when she first met him, she was puzzled why he kept looking at her but then turn away without saying anything. Soon he takes off again.
When the bad guys show up, the girls, who had practiced what they needed to do to protect the plantation, were ready for the face off with the aid of Henry and Jeremiah. It was at this time that Uncle Templeton shows up again only to be gunned down. The ringleader is killed by Henry and Uncle Templeton is treated for his wounds.
Uncle Templeton vows to stay and assist in running the plantation if they will accept him when they learn of the secret he has been carrying for 17 years.
It was a very emotional time for Katie and Mayme but as always their faith and their sisterly bond strengthen their resolve to continue on through life's journey. They have succeeded running the plantation for 2 years now to bring in the cotton crop necessary to pay the debts on Rosewood Plantation.
As the plot thickens what conclusions will the next book in this series bring to the Shenandoah Sisters?
Two orphans garner strength for some big surprises..........2004-08-16
Katie and Mayme are still at the plantation with their three charges and are yet convincing most people they are not just kids running a big spread. However, a few townspeople are finding out and they have a huge surprise visitor with even bigger news. Just when it seems things cannot get any bleaker, the author throws the reader a whole other twist.
Mayme gets the biggest surprise of her 16 yr. life and the news changes the whole dynamics of the plantation. Katie is contending with the terrible burden of meeting the payments on her mother's loan. Can the "miracle" she found be true? Can and will they be allowed to stay?
Greed, gold and corruption were just as prevalent then as now and the girls have no way knowing who or what to trust. Jeremiah and his father Henry are their best connections and also best protectors for the time being.
I have already bought the next book in the series and can hardly wait to start it. Thanks Tracie Peterson for another great, historical series.
Book Description
Stressing how to give equal importance to color and fabric personality, the projects in this book use simple combinations of squares and triangles for striking results. Diverse lessons show how to incorporate forty unrelated fabrics in one small quilt; how to make a two-color quilt, adding enrichment colors without changing the integrity of the original scheme; how to sew a nine-patch quilt following easy techniques artists use in paintings; how to plan a quilt color scheme inspired by a favorite photo, painting, or decorative object.
Customer Reviews:
COLOUR FROM THE HEART.......2006-11-10
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PUBLICATION. MY WIFE WAS ABSOLUTELY THRILLED WITH THE QUALITY OF THIS VERY INFORMATIVE BOOK
Must see!.......2004-09-10
This is the only book that teaches color lesson in quilting. Easy to follow concept and lots of fun too! The quilts here are pretty small and easy to finish. Very stater level. And the color lessons are wonderful. When I was reading this book, I keep saying 'so that it is.' It is just like someone helps you to say what you already know but can't find a way to express. The best thing is these lessons are for everyone with different color preference and taste. I loved it!
Panic Attack.......2003-11-13
You've come to my rescue. This was the first quilt book I purchased 2 1/2 years ago when I decided to take the plunge into quilting. I absolutely adore this book!
It was very interesting and applicable. I immediately began to make each project (completed 4 or 5 of 7) before moving on to some other projects.
Somehow, over the intervening months, I've managed to lose (probably merely misplace--so I'll be selling or giving away my extra copy when I find it) this book. I've searched several quilt stores, not remembering where I initially bought it. Decided to go on line, and finally found it here. I can't understand why it's not the first book listed when you do a search on "quilts" and "color." I believe it is the definitive book on the subject. Easy to read, easy and fun projects to do; you actually "play" as your learn. Would love to see other books by Ms. Perry.
My Favourite Quilting Book.......2003-03-01
I absolutely love this book. Originally a painter, Gai Perry really delivers in Colour From The Heart with her 7 step formula for understanding and working with colour and quilts. There are dozens of colour photos throughout the book - I can't stand quilt books that don't include lots of photos - so you can really get a feel for what Perry is communicating. Her approach to quilting is also quite refreshing; she prefers a few basic tools and supplies, a contrast to the perhaps overly technological quilts being made today in the 21st century. I feel completely inspired and confident about using her ideas and my favourite colours effectively in my next quilt!
An inspiring workbook for any quilter!.......2001-01-17
I love this book! It's an important one for beginner quilters, and also for quilters who need confidence in putting colors and textures together in a quilt. Do you have a sizeable stash, buy the fabric medleys you see in magazines but freeze up when it's time to use them? Can't walk out of a fabric store without a sack of fabric in your hand, yet it turns into one more project on your to-do list because, mmmm, maybe those fabrics you bought don't go well together after all?
I have another book that deals with color theory, fabric texture, pattern and theme. I'm supposed to cut little pieces from my precious stash and paste them in the appropriate boxes in the book. I just couldn't do it! I like Color From the Heart because the author sets up seven lessons during which you actually make a little quilt in each lesson. Lesson One focuses on Spontaneity. You'll be asked to make a little postage stamp quilt. This was a fun exercise, and yielded some interesting surprises for me. Lesson Two turns to Color Enrichment, and so on. In each lesson there are colorful photos of quilts made that reflect the quilter's individual choices.
The author spends just a few pages giving you background on color theory. That's fine with me. You can get more on that elsewhere. Her purpose in the book, as I see it, is on teaching you how to expand your knowledge of fabric color, design, texture etc. and how the fabrics interact and influence one another. All this so you learn to trust your color instincts.
Book Description
Acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, composer, novelist, and memoirist, Gordon Parks has participated in, been witness to, and documented many of the major events in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries.
In A Hungry Heart, Parks reflects on the people and events that shaped him: from growing up poor on the Kansas prairie to crisscrossing the country on the North Coast Limited; documenting poverty and injustice in Chicago to doing fashion spreads for Vogue; photographing black revolutionaries to writing, composing the soundtrack for, and directing the Hollywood movie version of his novel The Learning Tree. More than a self-portrait of the artist, A Hungry Heart is a striking account of an American era.
Download Description
"Gordon Parks, acclaimed photographer, filmmaker, composer, and author of fiction and nonfiction, has participated in, been witness to, and documented many of the major events in the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. He is first and foremost a celebrated photojournalist and fine art photographer whose work, collected and exhibited worldwide, is emblematic of American culture. In A Hungry Heart, he reaches into the corridors of his memory and recounts the people and events that shaped him: from growing up poor on the Kansas prairie to withstanding the unbearably cold winters of Minnesota to living on the edge of starvation in Harlem during the Depression. He more than survived the challenges and crises of his life; he thrived and has become one of the most celebrated and diversely talented figures in American culture.
Customer Reviews:
Unbelievable good---Wow!!!.......2007-05-04
It has been a long time since I started reading a book and could not stop until I had finish it. I started at 5pm on a Sunday and finish on Monday, the next day. The benadryl I had taken Sunday night did me in. What a man and what an extraordinary life.Every circumstance from the beginning of his life stated, he should have failed. Mr Parks was born dead, not alive but dead. His parents were great role models and taught him how to live. His father gave skin grafts to a burn child and told Gordon he did it for the child. Gordon had asked if the boys parents thanked him or gave him a gift. Before reading the first chapter, I said that I must meet this great man. It is not to be. Mr Parks accomplishments remind me of another great man, Dr. John Franklin Hope, the black historian. These great men were born only a few years apart, 1912 and 1915 respectfully. Please treat yourself and read this book.
Understated.......2006-07-02
Gordon Parks was one of the first to transcend race in America, he was not a "Black" photographer, he was a photographer. He says it well describing his retrospective with photos of a high fashion gown the same color as the blood from a youth in a gang war he had photographed the same day.
Born in 1912 (a living icon before his death this year), Parks' work took him everywhere.. northern Canada, Paris, Rio and all over the US. He brushed with King Farouk and President Eisenhower and spent extended time with Malcom X, Mohammed Ali and Eldridge Cleaver.
This book is a once over lightly. He tells a lot through dialog, but it is not a satisfying substitute for description. I'd like to know more about how he got into photography (it reads like a fairy tale... but then he's remembering back 70 years). History needs more about the people and situations of his WPA and war work experiences... to name a few areas.
Some of the stories evoke nostalgia for a time when a spread in Life magazine would yield life changing contributions for a child in Brazil or a family in Harlem. Do today's photographers get body guards anywhere but Iraq? Do publishers still compensate those like the sharecropper who lose everything, due to the photographic spread?
This book reminds us, though, that these kindnesses and courtesies ran concurrent with overt and life taking racism.
Parks gives an outline that someone else should follow up on.
Almost 5 stars, but............2006-05-10
I would first like to say that this memoir was an excellent tour through the life a professional genious, good father, & well admired & respected man. His story takes us on a journey of reexamining ourselves, our dreams/achievements, black history, American history. He allowed us access to tour places abroad & at home & to see our government at it's best and worstlight. We were introduced to the real people beyond their stardom: from Marlon Brando to Muhammad Ali to Ingrid Bergman to Malcolm X. He focused on families who weren't fortunate enough to live the American DREAM; but for him were very much a part of it. He took a chance on people & stood up for what he believed in; even though the doors often times seemed shut in his face.
I felt that Mr. Gordon could have left out all the details of his many affairs with women: from wives, to mistress, to flight attendants, to his own editor (later to be wife ). I appreciate his honesty; because no man/woman can claim perfection and to do that would have been a lie. But, his detail and sense of "dat a boy" praise made me to give this book a 4.
The Hunger for More.......2006-03-15
When I first picked this up, I didn't know what to expect. All I knew about Gordon Parks was that he was a photographer. After reading it, I felt like a fool, because there was so much more to this extraordinary man. This book is well over 300 pages long, and I finished it in two days. There are many reasons for this.
For one, he has so many stories to tell, and, in a way, he has a way of placing you at the story he is telling. This book was published last year, and he does his best to reach back as far as possible to give the reader accurate accounts of his memories, good and bad. It tells of his humble beginnings, and some of the losses he experienced along the way. He talked about some of his earlier jobs, the undesirable conditions, but some of the people he came in contact with. At that time, he proposed to his first wife, and after constant opposition from her family, they later wed.
He also tells about the first camera he ever purchased. Not having much experience at all, he took some shots, and the rest was history from that standpoint. He never comes off as arrogant, cocky, or pumping himself or his talents up. He was always humble, and just enjoyed doing the things he loved: photography, literature, and music. He made the most of his opportunities when he was given them. His undying love and support for the poor and the less fortunate is well-chronicled, and his loyalty to fellow Blacks at the harshest of times put him in very compromising situations, but he was always able to adapt, sympathize, and relate to his subjects, and it showed in all of his work. He never compromised his beliefs for personal gain, and he was widely respected for it. He also tells of his times behind the camera, from his first film "The Learning Tree" to one of his more popular films "Shaft." To my surprise, his son wrote the screenplay and directed one of my favorite films of all-time, "Superfly", and he tells of how that came to existence.
There are so many lessons gained from reading this story that I do not have the time to list them all. For me, a 23-year-old black man, it was a blessing to be able to come across this piece of literature. I learned about a great man who made his mark on this world to the best of his ability and remained humble and down-to-earth from beginning to the end.
Book Description
Michael Phillips' bestselling Civil War saga traces the efforts of two very different Southern girls-one the daughter of a slave, the other the daughter of a plantation owner-as they fight to stay safe after being orphaned in the war. Soon the plantation they have struggled to maintain becomes a beacon of hope to others in desperate need.
Customer Reviews:
Can't put it down.......2005-05-17
My grandma leant me this series, with rave reviews on how much she enjoyed them. I was skeptical, Christian authors are not exactly my cup of tea. But my grandma was insistant, and i needed some reading material. I figured all four books should last me for a good majority of the summer, but once i started reading I couldn't stop. I ended up reading the entire series in less than a week! These books were packed with adventure and suspense, and the friendship between these two girls was so touching. Even the religious parts didn't annoy me as they usually would have because the rest of the story was so good! Now i'm going to start working on the other Michael Phillips books that my grandma has.
Book Description
Deborah Santana is best known for her marriage to music icon Carlos Santana–a thirty-year bond that endures to this day. But as a girl growing up in San Francisco in the 1960s, daughter of a white mother and a black father–the legendary blues guitarist Saunders King–her life was charged with its own drama long before she married.
In this beautiful, haunting memoir, Deborah Santana shares for the first time her early experiences with racial intolerance, her romantic involvement with musician Sly Stone and the suffering she endured in that relationship, and her adventures in the freewheeling 1960s. Yet it is her spiritual awakening that is the core of this story. The civil rights movement was the foundation of her growth, the Woodstock era the backdrop of her love with Carlos. The couple was drawn indelibly together by a search for truth and spirituality, but while yearning to be filled with God’s light, they were pulled dangerously toward a manipulative cult. They eventually disengage themselves from the guru and reclaim control of their lives, putting their love for each other before the cult’s increasingly strenuous demands.
Space Between the Stars is a moving account of self-discovery, rendered in raw, beautiful prose, by a woman whose heart has remained pure even in times of despair. As Deborah Santana talks frankly about her lifelong fight against racial injustice and her deep-seated loyalty to her family, ultimately it is the struggle to remain a spiritual and artistic force in her own right, in the shadow of one of the world’s most revered musicians, that shines through as her most indomitable pursuit.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Space Between the Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart.......2007-09-19
I was so impressed with the book I bought copies for all my sisters and mother. We all loved the book and my 81 year old mother reads reads regency romance novels exclusively. A miracle ocurred and she read this book and didn't want to put it down! We all loved it. The book gave us courage and opened our hearts. THANKS Deborah.
Sincerely,
Karen Gravina Hull, Massachusetts
Thanks Deborah.......2007-07-15
Deborah Santana opens her heart and life in this book much the same way a musician such as her father or husband does on stage. Truly a great writer Deborah chronicles a period of Rock and Roll as an insider. We are lucky to have an account from this period of two famous bands to which she was connected. But Space Between the Stars isn't just about Rock and Roll. It is a story of a strong woman who has survived that era and come out stronger. The Music on The Cds is incredible. Her son Salvador is likely to be a force in the music world, admired and respected as were his father and grandfather.
Sublime Joy.......2007-03-07
This is an amazing book full of truth and wisdom. "You house the truth of God's essence inside yourselves, to be heard in the wisper of silence". "Really, all brokenness is a lack of oneness with one's own spirit and light". For those unfamiliar with Carlos's wealth of music and message, we learn; "every note is chosen with the hope that in the listener it will sing a story, spark a journey to goodness and mercy". I laughed, I cried, I loved it! I am a middle aged white guy who honestly thinks Carlos Santana is a Prophet, chosen and inspired by God. Just listen to his music (all of it!). Deborah Santana is a gifted writer, who tells her story in a magical and compelling narative. The message is truley inspirational. Thank you.
Substitute for Love.......2007-01-08
For the first two-thirds of Deborah Santana's autobiography, I was very worried. Sisterly concern radiated from me like a constantly buzzing red light of warning. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. Be careful! That man, that guru, that drug, that situation is not right. Keep away! Stop! Reboot! What are you thinking, you foolish naive little girl?
Well obviously all of Deborah's experiences are in the past, and she successfully navigated them to her present apparently self-realized state. And of course my cautionary voice came from... where? Oh yes, the voice of experience. Is this a generational thing? Or a Women-Coming-of-Age-in-the-USA thing?
Those of us born in the 1950's and before were, at least subliminally, instructed to put aside our own personalities in order to grace the life of a man or a god. Yet we came of age during a time in the US when women as a gender were carving out new roles and civil rights. This clash of philosophies led many of us to what we gently refer to as "adventures" or " interesting circumstances". At least this happened to those of us who sought to embrace the greater world and the myriad of opportunities it presented. After all, we had freedoms never or rarely afforded women before - but little in the way of experience or wise grannies to temper us.
Still - how could someone raised in what appears to have been a loving open-minded family tilt so headlong into such tawdry difficulties? It all comes down to naiveté and the desire for love, and so many of us have been there. Deborah abandons her own ego to that of the abusive and drug addicted Sly Stone. Then abandons it again to guru Sri Chinmoy, and yet again to Carlos Santana. She finally seems to begin to get her identity together when she has children and realizes that even if her beloved husband has a roving eye, she still has worth and purpose. But it none-the-less remains based on glomming her personality onto that of another: Sly, Chinmoy, Santana, babies. Even the book title describes her as a void between brilliant bodies of light. Primordial ooze aside, methinks there is still self-realization to be achieved here. And I believe she is currently doing this through the Milagro Foundation, her family's philanthropic outreach.
What is ultimately so marvelous about this book is that Deborah articulates eloquently the struggle so many of us in our generation have had to reconcile purpose and identity in a material society. Although she writes of racism, I see her story as more of a cautionary tale of sexism, the gullibility of young sheltered women, and, above all, the need for love that is so strong it can blind the seeker to all logic and reason. For this reason, the book is a fantastic book club read. Less inspiration than commiseration, it serves as a wonderful stimulus to discussion of our role as women, how this is evolving, and where it needs to go.
not what you think.......2006-12-28
I thought this would be a book about a woman's growth. It ended up being full of excuses for what she didn't accomplish but had stated she wanted to accomplish. It seems "god" always had other plans for her that kept her in an easier position. I found Deborah to be easily susceptible to persuasion with no critical thinking and greatly influenced by the men in her life and their dreams despite what she believes about herself to be the opposite. She seems to base her self worth on how much worth she bestows on the men who "chose" her. I would have my daughters read this book only as a cautionary tale - not one of personal growth. If she were not Deborah Santana I can't imagine that any publisher would have found this to be worth publishing or enlightening to women in any way.
Average customer rating:
- What Nothingness!
- Reflective and Healing
- Not EXACTLY what I expected...
- Moving Stories...............
- confusing and vague...
|
The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart
Alice Walker
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Walker, Alice
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Walker, Alice
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Popular Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Book Clubs
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Temple of My Familiar
-
Anything We Love Can Be Saved
-
Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart: A Novel (Walker, Alice)
-
You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down
-
In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose
ASIN: 0679455876
Release Date: 2000-10-03 |
Amazon.com
Even a fickle reader of Alice Walker will find something to admire in The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart. This tender, elegiac collection of stories is based in part on her early marriage to a white man and her continuing puzzlement at how their connection--once so charmed and resilient--faded to nothing. Looking back at their happy years together in "the racially volatile and violent Deep South state of Mississippi," a place and time in which their union was not only unconventional but illegal, Walker is also led to imagine other, less metaphoric homecomings. After the initial autobiographical story, "To My Young Husband," she turns to a character named Rosa, a novelist like herself, who returns home to the South with her sister, Barbara, after their grandfather's death. Rosa had not made it to the funeral, since news of his death arrived just as she was leaving on a long-planned holiday abroad. Now, belatedly, she has come to gather family stories. But when she asks her Aunt Lily a question, this woman glares back at her with something close to hatred: "I don't want to find myself in anything you write. And you can just leave your daddy alone too." Reeling, Rosa turns to her sister for comfort, but Barbara, too, rejects her with "a look that said she'd got the reply she'd deserved."
For wasn't she always snooping about the family's business and turning things about in her writing in ways that made the family shudder? There was no talking to her as you talked to regular people. The minute you opened your mouth a meter went on. Rose could read all this on her sister's face. She didn't need to speak. And it was a lonely feeling that she had. For Barbara was right. Aunt Lily too. And she could no more stop the meter running than she could stop her breath.
With her characteristic insight and her slow, colloquial prose--seeded with anger but watered with hope--Walker explores the territory of her own broken heart and those of African Americans of her generation. --Regina Marler
Book Description
"These are the stories that came to me to be told after the close of a magical marriage to an extraordinary man that ended in a less-than-magical divorce. I found myself unmoored, unmated, ungrounded in a way that challenged everything I'd ever thought about human relationships. Situated squarely in that terrifying paradise called freedom, precipitously out on so many emotional limbs, it was as if I had been born; and in fact I was being reborn as the woman I was to become."
So says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker about her beautiful new book, in which "one of the best American writers today" (The Washington Post) gives us superb stories based on rich truths from her own experience. Imbued with Walker's wise philosophy and understanding of people, the spirit, sex and love, The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart begins with a lyrical, autobiographical story of a marriage set in the violent and volatile Deep South during the early years of the civil rights movement. Walker goes on to imagine stories that grew out of the life following that marriage—a life, she writes, that was "marked by deep sea-changes and transitions." These provocative stories showcase Walker's hard-won knowledge of love of many kinds and of the relationships that shape our lives, as well as her infectious sense of humor and joy. Filled with wonder at the power of the life force and of the capacity of human beings to move through love and loss and healing to love again, The Way Forward Is with a Broken Heart is an enriching, passionate book by "a lavishly gifted writer" (The New York Times Book Review).
Customer Reviews:
What Nothingness!.......2003-04-08
I picked this book up from my local library after having read a book of poetry by Walker. The poetry was very unique and full of rarely experienced perspectives on being an American of Color. I grabbed this book because the title is evocative of spiritual growth. What I found is a book totally devoid of any redeeming spirituality. There were excerpts from Walkers sexual history which I could have done without reading. This book read like an awful diary than was meant to be thrown away but, was found.......by an enemy intending to stab you in the back! What surprises me is, the fact that this garbage was published at all. It is a bunch of senseless ramblings. The title is very misleading. If you like to make comparisons then, this definitely more Anais Nin than Shirley MacLaine!
Reflective and Healing.......2002-09-22
I happened across Alice's latest while seeking something, anything to read during the weekend immediately after September 11. The introduction simultaneously broke my heart and gave me hope for a better tomorrow. Once I got home, I immediately typed up the majority of the introduction and sent it onto my friends. Many responded thanking me for sending this onto them.
While many of the other reviewers are correct in saying that some of the stories are difficult to understand and others scattered and incosistent, I find this part of the books charm. It is unvarnished, sometimes very thoughtful, other times angry, and still other times conciliatory. In short...it is very real.
If you don't want to think and be challenged, avoid the book. If you want a challenge, pick it up. Nobody says you have to agree with it all, but I for one am thankful that a person such as Alice is willing to bare her soul in such a way that is so provocotive.
I am honestly a bit surprised by the venom of some of the reviews.
Not EXACTLY what I expected..........2002-03-07
The conversational tone with which this book is written is delightful. You feel like you're having an intimate chat with Alice over a hot cup of coffee, and that's cozy enough. Problem is, she takes a perfectly good beginning (I can hear LTD's "Where Did We Go Wrong" playin' in the background...)and adds to it perfectly confusing detours. I think the story would have read much better had she added no fiction at all. Most want to hear the truth of it all -- or so it seems to me -- more of the life story of this love union and its subsequent heartbreaking end. Who among us hasn't ever struggled over the disbelief that what was once so right somehow slipped through our fingers like oil? Alice is rich and raw in her expression, and her candor is admirable. But the added fiction to a moving memoir is, particularly when the names and circumstances of the ficticious characters keep tripping over themselves, questionable at best. If you're feeling experimental, go ahead and try it. Otherwise, I'd suggest you stick to more authentic, unclouded memoirs.
Moving Stories......................2002-01-24
..................that analyze the experience of romantic love in all its complex forms. As only Alice Walker can do, with such convincing story lines, common elements of romantic love are demonstrated in stories about transracial, gay/lesbian, rich and poor, educated and less educated couples. Walker shows us how superficial circumstances may differ, while preserving those characteristics of relationships that are common to us all. In doing so she breaks down stereotypes and we come to see her characters as human beings who are just like ourselves.
confusing and vague..........2002-01-23
I guess a celebrated author such as Walker can receive accolades from a book that is vague to the point of being- pointless.
With the exception of the first story about her failed marraige, the rest of these stories don't make a whole lot of sense.
Book Description
Howard Thurman was a unique man-a black minister, philosopher, and educator whose vitality and vision touched the lives of countless people of all races, faiths, and cultures. Index; photographs.
Customer Reviews:
A Man of Yesterday with a Message for Today.......2006-03-26
In becoming better acquainted, through reading, with a man some of my friends have encouraged me to become familiar with, I have found an incredible gift in the form of Hward Thurman, whose message is not only inspiring, but timely, interfaith, intercultural and, most of all one, thatif taken to heart and put into practice, could change the world. I often wonder why such messages are read, spoken from various platforms and then passed over and and remembered only as inspirational words as we forge ahead in the world doing things the same way over and over again.
I recommend the message in this book to everyone who will care enough to not only learn about an incredible human being who was with us for a while, left us with a vision, and challenged us to see things in a new light. I invite us to see the wisdom he shared and put it into action.
It is an autobiography and so we must accept it as written, staying free f rom judgement as to style, etc. It is a man's heart, gifted to those who will read and those whom he has influenced and those who could gain so much from sharing in the vision.
One of the great American Memoirs of the 20th Century!.......1999-07-06
I recently returned to Thurman's autobiography after 15 years. I am developing a course in Composition/African-American Literature. Thurman's words will be the springboard. His prose is elegant and concise; his sensitivity to nature, a poetic model; his expansive spirit, inspirational. Many chapters will serve as exercises for writing; e.g.: his instruction for the preparation of sermons. In fine, his response to life is a guidline for good writing and holy living.
An excellent compendium.......1998-11-22
Thurman stands on his own as a giant. The only weakness of the book is that often the compilers feel the need to tell us what Thurman is going to say.
Not sure so much from Disciplines of the Spirit needed to be reprinted.
I read much of the book during a 12 hour Prayer Vigil and found it very enriching and satisfying.
Must Read, Life changing stories of CreativeChristianMystic.......1998-02-06
Howard Thurman's autobiography is a defining, powerful collection of one man's life-stories that inspire family, schools, churches, nations and gives timely revelations into the transforming power of God's grace that spans the many gulfs that we call racial, economic, religious, political lines. This is a must read text.
The profound experiences of an influential American mystic........1997-02-25
Consistently written from a space of incredible compassion and profound understanding of the human condition, Dr. Howard Thurman's extraordinary path unfolds as if it were any man's path. He was mentor to the young Martin Luther King, friend and confidante of Mahatma Gandhi, and founder of San Francisco's Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples; all performed while living the experience of a black man during America's most racially turbulent years. Though he comes from a Christian background and is steeped in Christian theology, his understanding is that of the mystic; seeing the heart of truth in all the world's belief systems. Dr. Thurman is not widely known, but should be on the reading list of anyone who seeks insight into how to move the heart into the world. I will never be without Dr. Thurman's guidance in my life again
Book Description
In her classic memoir, distinguished author, television executive, and activist Marita Golden beautifully recounts an astounding journey to Africa and back.
Marita Golden was raised in Washington, D.C., by a mother who was a cleaning woman and a father who was taxi-driver. For all their struggles, with life and each other, her parents instilled her with spirit and aspirations. Swept up in the heady Black Power movement of the sixties, Marita moved to New York to study journalism at Columbia--and fell in love with Femi Ajayi, a Nigerian architecture student..
Their passion led them to start a life together in Africa--a place Marita was eager to understand. Exhilarated by a world free of white racism, Marita quickly found work as a professor and embraced motherhood. But Femi's increasing expectations that she snap into the role of the submissive Nigerian wife were shocking and dispiriting. Her struggle to regain her footing and shape a black identity that was true to her spirit is suspenseful and inspiring, an uncommon tale of race, identity, and Africa.
Customer Reviews:
This is one of the best books I've ever read.......2006-09-11
I read this book right before my first journey to Ghana. I was participating in a study abroad program, and I was advised to read some books about Ghana and West Africa before I left. I stumbled upon this book on Amazon, and I'm so glad I did. Marita Golden is a brilliant storyteller, and she is so honest. I love her writing style, and I could relate to so many of her experiences. I also love the way she relayed her precarious position as a black woman in America, as well as her anxiety about her place in African society. Her book has also helped me understand some of the cultural divides btwn Africans in Diaspora, and those on the continent. I highly reccomend her book!
Books:
- The Hopeville Fire Department: A Boy's Tale of Betrayal by One of New England's Most Notorious Priests
- The Last Queen: A Novel of Juana La Loca
- The Masters (Strangers and Brothers)
- The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma
- The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR
- The Prince (Bantam Classics)
- The Road
- The Sugar Solution: Weight Gain? Memory Lapses? Mood Swings? Fatigue? Your Symptoms Are Real - And Your Solution is Here
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
- The Ultimate Gift (The Ultimate Series #1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery : Mixed-Media Techniques for Collage, Altered Books, Artist Jo
- History: Fiction or Science
- A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV
- Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover: An Accelerated Program of Exercise and Nutrition for Maximum Resul
- Dressed for Death
- Human Aging: Biological Perspectives
- His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina
- 100 Best Selling Albums of the 70's
- Becoming a Friend & Lover
- Robert Laird Borden His Memoirs
