Maya Angelou's new memoir "Mom & Me & Mom" explores the relationship the author shared with her mother Vivian Baxter.

Maya Angelou already has seven autobiographies to her name but still has a lot more stories to tell the world about her life. The author's latest book "Mom & Me & Mom" explores her relationship with her mother Vivian Baxter. Angelou reveals that when she was younger, her mother sent her and her brother to be raised by their grandmother, and years later, brought them back to live with her, leading to the beginning of a loving relationship.

Angelou says that her family relationships, especially that which she shared with her mother, have been crucial in defining who she is. Whatever she is today and whatever her name means to people is because of the love of her mother, grandmother and brother. She's always claimed to be from a family with strong bonds, and hopes to carry forward this tradition to her son Guy Bailey Johnson. She's dedicated this new memoir to him, calling him the "bravest, most courageous and most generous man" she's ever known.

Talking about her childhood, Angelou says she was primarily raised by her grandmother. There was a time in her life when she would speak to no one else but her brother. That was when she was between the age of 7 and 13. The reason was because she had been molested. She told her brother about the incident and he told the family. The man responsible was put in jail for a night and released the next day. A day after his release, he was found "kicked" to death. When the police came to the house to make the announcement, Angelou thought "her voice" had killed him and so she stopped speaking for six years.

The author also talks about her reunion with her birth mother and how she began addressing her by the term "lady" when they first met. Angelou said they used to call their grandmother "Mama" and since her birth mother was nothing like her grandmother, she found it difficult to relate to her as a mother. So when her birth mother asked her what she would like to address her as, Angelou replied "Lady", because she was very beautiful and sounded like a lady. However, over the years, "Lady" won Angelou over with her kindness and great sense of humor, and she began calling her mother and later, "mom".