The Heart of A Woman by Maya Angelou

“……And when she decides she’s leaving, she doesn’t care where she’ll go. She just knows her time is up. She will leave.”

I was tired of reading Gabrielle Union’s book (We’re Going To Need More Wine). It was not a boring book. I needed something different. 

I jumped onto Maya’s Heart of A Woman. 

Gather around and let’s talk about some few lessons I picked. 

Keep Moving

Maya wasn’t afraid to move, she was not afraid to be among ‘new’ people. Maybe she was, but she moved past her fears. She moved from one place to the other and with the help of friends she managed to keep herself and especially her sanity intact.

Travel is good. It opens you up for new opportunities, people and life. The world is bigger than your small space and it’s okay for you to discover other worlds. 

Maya’s travels made her very intelligent. She could speak so many languages and appreciated so many cultures. I realized Egypt exposed her to Arab culture and from there, she met people from other countries who were ready to help. Most of the people she met influenced her next travel place.

You don’t know people 

“He is a good man; I work with him is not the same as I am married to him”. 

Allow people who live with their men to speak. They know them better.

Vuzumi Mark could ‘pretend’ (I refer to the affluence he displayed) to the world, he was a fine PAN Africanist and a freedom fighter, well traveled but he failed to be truthful to Maya. If he had taken off the mask of “African macho man” and opened up to his wife about his financial issues, I am sure Maya would have understood him. I don’t understand why he was not open about paying bills. Activists don’t have money; he should have declared his financial status. Maya survived the divorce. 

 She looked within 

The red flags (the ones that keep nudging us but we close our eyes to them) she admitted that the man she was engaged to wasn’t good because of a number of reasons. Her friends thought so too but they didn’t make the decision for her. She called off the engagement after living in denial for a long time. 

She was open with people she trusted and called friends. At every point of her life she had a group of friends who were like family to her. It’s always in your heart. Whatever decision you make look deep inside your heart and you’ll not stray from your purpose. 

We learn everyday

Maya was ready to learn and work. She did ‘anything’ she could do to survive. Efua Sutherland helped her get a job and she was ready to work as an Administrative Assistant at the University of Ghana. 

She was ready to do anything just to make her son comfortable. When you are used to taking care of the home, you don’t give that responsibility up even when another person shows up. I love that she took issues into her own hands.  

The woman I admire and love nurtured a well behaved intelligent son and I was so proud reading about Guy. I could tell from the prints he was respectful and thoughtful. It calmed me. I can’t believe I was praying he lived when I was reading about his car accident. Guy was happy to be admitted as a student in the University of Ghana. Sarbah hall welcomed him to start his journey as a college student. The accident was behind him. 

We all need some form of support 

As always, Vivian Baxter (her mother) shows up in grand style, I admire the woman she is to her daughter and I am going to be like her to my child if I ever have one. You don’t need a whole family support; some have their whole family supporting them. And that’s okay. You need one pillar like Vivian and you will be alright. At a point in life, our friends may even take the role of family and that is fine. As long as you have some form of support. 

When you read a book which speaks your language( Maya speaks Fante), you appreciate it more. 

She talked about our Airport, University of Ghana, Legon, Korle-Bu, Makola, Flagstaff house and Winneba. Names were mentioned: Bertie Opoku, Prof. Nketsia, Efua Sutherland and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (OUR ONLY PRESIDENT). She took me all over the world and brought me home. 

(I have an extra copy of the book to give away on a first-come-first- serve basis). 

Corona Feelings by Chilombo