{"product_id":"my-journey-with-maya-9780316341776","title":"My Journey with Maya","description":"\u003cb\u003eA remarkable story of friendship, love, and courage.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eMy Journey with Maya\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Back Bay Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/12\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780316341776\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.70w x 0.60d","brand":"David Ritz, Tavis Smiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42916851613877,"sku":"9780316341776","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_7b20a556-2305-4e9b-a417-77d6d5f87def.jpg?v=1687272193","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/my-journey-with-maya-9780316341776","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}