▍书信原文

Dear Marguerite,

You're itching to be on your own. You don't want anybody telling you what time you have to be in at night or how to raise your baby. You're going to leave your mother's big comfortable house and she won't stop you, because she knows you too well.

  But listen to what she says:

When you walk out of my door, don't let anybody raise you—you've been raised. You know right from wrong. In every relationship you make, you'll have to show readiness to adjust and make adaptations. Remember, you can always come home.

    You will go home again when the world knocks you down—or when you fall down in full view of the world. But only for two or three weeks at a time. Your mother will pamper you and feed you your favorite meal of red beans and rice. You'll make a practice of going home so she can liberate you again—one of the greatest gifts along with nurturing your courage, that she will give you. Be courageous, but not foolhardy.

Walk proud as you are,

Maya

      读过她的人生，你会感慨自己好像什么也没经历过，枉在这世上走一遭，而同时，你又会欣慰还好自己不用经历她经历过的那些事情，哪怕是其中的一半。Maya Angelou，这位伟大的母亲和勇敢的女儿，虽生在泥沼，却努力绽放，向我们展示着女性的力量！

背景介绍：

玛雅·安吉罗（Maya Angelou），一位有着传奇经历的奇女子，她三岁父母离异，七岁半被母亲的男友强暴，16岁做脱衣舞女，17岁成为单身母亲。而最艰难的处境还在于她是一个贫民窟的黑人小女孩，而且成长在黑人受尽岐视和屈辱的年代。但她最终成为了一个著作等身的诗人、作家、导演、民权的代表人物之一。她的冲破囚笼的歌——《我知道笼中鸟为何歌唱》是美国黑人妇女文学创作中里程碑性的重要作品。

racial segregation：种族隔离制度

"To know her life story is to simultaneously wonder what on earth you have been doing with your own life and feel glad that you didn't have to go through half the things she has."

Martin Luther King Jr.: 马丁·路德·金，民权主义者，美国民权运动领袖

"The world knows her as a poet but at the heart of her, she was a teacher. 'When you learn, teach. When you get, give' is one of my best lessons from her."（Oprah Winfrey）

"She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace. I loved her and I know she loved me. She will always be the rainbow in my clouds." （Oprah Winfrey）                         

  读过这封信许多母亲好像很谦虚地表示自愧不如。我觉得Angelou是个伟大的人，他所受委屈 歧视和吃过的苦，都将化为她的气质，成就了她的伟大。