My Journey with Maya, David Ritz
My Journey with Maya, David Ritz
List: $18.99 | Sale: $13.29
Club: $9.49

My Journey with Maya

Author: David Ritz, Tavis Smiley

Narrator: Tavis Smiley

Unabridged: 4 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/07/2015


Synopsis

A remarkable story of friendship, love, and courage.

When Maya Angelou and Tavis Smiley met in 1986, he was twenty-one and she was fifty-eight. For the next twenty-eight years, they shared an unlikely, special bond. Angelou was a teacher and a maternal figure to Smiley, and they talked often, of art, politics, history, race, religion, music, love, purpose, and -- more than anything -- courage. Courage to be open, to follow dreams, to believe in oneself.

In My Journey with Maya, Smiley recalls a joyful friendship filled to the brim with sparkling conversation -- in Angelou's gardens surrounded by her caged birds, before lectures, sharing meals, and on breaks from it all, they sought each other out for comfort, advice, and above all else, friendship.

It began when he, a recent college graduate and a poor kid from a big family in the Midwest, was invited to join the revered writer on a sojourn to Africa. He would be handling her bags, but Maya didn't let that stop a friendship waiting to happen. Angelou was generous, challenging, and inspirational. Like a mother to him, she was selfless.

Here Tavis Smiley shares his personal memories of Maya Angelou, of a decades-long friendship with one of history's most fascinating women, one who left as indelible an imprint on American culture as she did on him.

About David Ritz

David Ritz is a songwriter who has collaborated with stars like Janet Jackson and Marvin Gaye, as well as a renowned ghostwriter who has authored more than fifty books for some of the biggest stars in music: Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Perry, Smokey Robinson, Don Rickles, and Willie Nelson, to name a few. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Essence, People, Art Connoisseur, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles with Roberta, his wife of nearly fifty years.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lynn on May 16, 2015

This first- person narrative account of the years that Tavis Smiley spent in the company of Dr. Maya Angelou is a real eye opener. I did not know that he had access to her in such a personal way through a friendship that lasted over 20 years. She took him under her wing and it helps explains his suc......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on November 01, 2018

This is a memoir. As a young man, Travis Smiley traveled to Ghana with Maya Angelo as her assistant, and over the years he developed a mentor/mentee relationship with her. His love and admiration for her are inspirational, and he introduces the reader to a wise, caring and humble person. I really lo......more

Goodreads review by Kaitlin on January 03, 2023

Amazing and enjoyed it very much! I never really looked into Maya Angelou that much until I picked this book up a few years ago and gave it a read, it's so beautiful and interesting. And it made me pick up different authors I would have never heard off before I read it. Plus the way Tavis Smiley and......more


Quotes

"Every page is saturated with spirit-lifting advice...'If you arrived feeling good, you left feeling better.' The same can be said of reading Smiley's book."—Dawn Raffel, Oprah's Book Club 2.0

"A beautiful memoir and tribute to a fallen friend.... Smiley's engaging memoir chronicles his wondrous sojourn to Ghana with Angelou and her entourage, vividly recalling conversations, sights, sounds and even thoughts that he had along the way."—Kimberly C. Roberts, The Philadelphia Tribune

"Smiley proves to be a faithful recorder of Angelou's poise, compassion, and dignity.... Readers might feel regret for not having the privilege of meeting Angelou personally, but Smiley has faithfully re-created both her voice's 'haunting beauty and lilting musicality' and the experience of receiving her transformative wisdom, humor, and compassion."—Kirkus Reviews

"Both a tribute and a memoir.... My Journey with Maya is a passionate depiction of a true Renaissance woman. One hopes it will lead readers back to Angelou's many books."—Lisa Page, The Washington Post

"Smiley writes about Angelou...with such reverence, respect and fondness that the reader can't help but envy their bond.... His willingness to pat the seat next to him, inviting us to worship at the altar of Angelou alongside him and countless other of her 'children,' feels like an insider's treat.... She lives on in his Journey."—Arienne Thompson, USA Today

"Angelou's personality comes through in the book, which opens up a remarkable connection to a legacy of African American intellectual and creative life..."—Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times

"For Angelou admirers and those intrigued with black culture, Smiley's glowing praise-song reminds us of what her singular, exceptional presence meant to her community and the nation."—Publishers Weekly

"Confidence and compassion compliment one another throughout his portrait of Maya Angelou. Well-written and highly entertaining, Smiley's work engages the reader from beginning to end.... Smiley's transformative memoir depicts the power of travel, the importance of experience, and how it can change one's perception of place and its culture."—Ashley Mahoney, The Charlotte Post