“My paternal grandmother who raised me had a remarkable influence on how I saw the world and how I reckoned my place in it. She was the picture of dignity. She spoke softly and walked slowly, with her hands behind her back, fingers laced together. I imitated her so successfully that neighbors called me her shadow. “Sister Henderson, I see you got your shadow with you again.” Grandmother would look at me and smile. “Well, I guess you’re right. If I stop, she stops. If I go, she goes.”” May Angelou shares more in this beautiful excerpt from Letter to a Daughter.
