The Heart of a Woman (Paperback)

It all begins in the city of New York where she tells of her son Guy and herself living in a small apartment.Her musical ways get her to a place where she feels comfortable as far as living-wise.Her singing and acting career seem to really come out in the beggining of this novel.She tells of performing in the Apolo Theatre, which is a very famous Negro-American theatre.Maya's talent for the stage lands her a job in producing and acting in small caberets and plays.Maya begins to feel that something is missing in her life.That thing she needs is a man to support herself and her son.At a local bar, where she often went to get away form it all, Maya's hopes of having that gap filled seems to come true when she met a nice man by the name of Thomas Allen.They become aquainted and meet more times after. Eventually Maya and Thomas hit it off and become engaged to be married. Frineds along the way such as the killenses, who where the reason in which Maya and Guy moved there in the first place, encouraged them and were supportive of the marrige plans.Life seems to work in funny ways especially for Miss Maya Angelou.A speaker who came all of the way from Africa was at a friends house one afternoon for a party.This famous freedom fighters name was Vusumzi Make(pronounced mah-kay). Maya attended this party that afternon while her fiance was at work.Maya had gotten one look at this man and she knew right then and there that he was the one, he was everything she'd hoped for in a man."...I had not met such a man..." said Maya.Make later offered Maya to lunch several times.Maya thinking nothing of it while her fiance was off at work accepted each invitation. She began to have strong feeling for the man.One particular evening, Make asked her to marry him and to move out of this city to Africa where her son would grow up to be a wonderful African man.Of course Maya felt torn and thought long and hard but came to a conclusion in which to accept his offer; but to break the news to her fiance, that was another story.She told him the not so good new and like any person would he was upset and that was it.

Maya and Make then got married and now they could make thier plans to move to Africa.They followed through with those plans and started to what they thought was a better life. In fact life does not work that way at least not in Maya's case. Life seemed good for a while having thier expensive apartment with oriental rugs and royal furniture.But as life went on and Vus, Vusumzi, had more job that were not so close to home he would return with the scent of other girl and the make-up smudged all over his collar.Now Maya didn't jump to conclusions right off but after a while she new something was up and confronted about it numerous times.He explained that she was the only one he loved. But finally it got old and vus would come home very late sometimes not at all. This time when confronted Vus confessed to all of those girls in the past.He told her that being an African man he could have more than one wife to fulfill his needs.Maya was more hurt than anything, but she dealed with it like any women would she told Vus that she was taking Guy and leaving him and that she no longer had any romantic feeling for him anymore.

Time pressed on and a meeting with friends got Maya to stay for six months. When those six months were up She packed her things and headed off to Ghara.At this time Guy had graduated high school and was ready to go to collge. Maya herf that Ghara's college was a great one and only wanted the best for the one who ment the world to her.Maya would go and work as a writer at the Liberian Depeatment of Info.This all seemed like it would work out after all.Again something threw their planns off this time a little more serious.Guy had been involved in a severe car accident and had broken his neck and was put into a neck, arm and body cast.Guy recovered after in time and he headed off to be a man in college while Maya had to deal with the fact that her little bot was all grown up ready to face the world and to make a difference in someone's life!