The Heart of a Woman is filled with unforgettable vignettes of such renowned people as Billie Holiday and Malcom X, but perhaps most importantly chronicles the joys and the burdens of a black mother in America and how the son she has cherished so intensely and worked for so devotedly finally grows to be a man.
"Maya Angelou has . . . achieved a kind of literary breakthrough which few writers of any time, place, or race achieve. . . . What makes [her] writing unique is . . . a melding of unconcerned honesty, consummate craft, and perfect descriptive pitch, yielding a rare compound of great emotional force and authenticity."
-The Washington Post Book World
"To say that Angelou is a living legend is in no way an exaggeration. [She is] one of the great voices of contemporary literature."
-The Voice
"Angelou is one of the geniuses of the Afro-American serial autobiography."
-The New York Times
"A uniquely gifted wordsmith and storyteller."
-The San Diego Union-Tribune