Throwback Thursday

For this week's Throwback Thursday, I'm reviewing a book that I reread and a short story that I discovered.


I chose to reread I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou primarily because I discovered the Banned Book Challenge. I remembered that this book was on my shelf and that I had enjoyed reading it the first time, so I thought I'd try reading it again. I had forgotten a lot of the story, so I enjoyed it a second time.
This an autobiography that chronicles Ms. Angelou's life until early adulthood. She tells of being raised by her grandmother in Arkansas and her adventures in and California with her mother.
I enjoyed her descriptions of life in the South. Although I am of a later generation, the feelings and fears that she described seemed familiar. I, too, had a superstitious grandmother from Arkansas, so I understood some of the rules. Because of her frank descriptions of the misbehaviors of others, I found myself wondering if the folks she described upset that she had described their actions.
As she described her attempts to find herself, I often wanted to hug her and let her know that someone understands her. I felt empathy for the girl that she was. I am thankful for the woman that she has become.
While the scenes describing her victimization as a child were startling for me, I can't imagine that I would forbid my daughters from reading it. I might wait until they are in high school, though.


The Yellow Wallpaper

I found this short story while adding to my pile for the readathon. It was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
It is about a woman in the late nineteenth century who apparently suffers from postpartem depression before the diagnosis had a name. Her husband is a doctor who believes that there is nothing wrong with her and forces her to rest. She is confined to a room in which she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper.
While I'm not sure that depression leads to a break in reality, it was scary to think of this poor woman losing her mind will she hides it from those who care for her.