I know why the caged bird sings

As I already mentioned, I started reading the book "I know why the caged bird sings" about two weeks ago. Well, I finished it yesterday and I have to tell you that this book is really amazing.

I know, I wrote about it already, but I'll have to repeat some things now ;)
The book is about a small black girl called Marguerite, or Maya, who lives with her brother Bailey and her grandmother whom they call Momma because their parents sent them away at the age of 3(Maya) and 4(Bailey). The children like living with Momma, a very religious old lady owning a store, which allows them to live a better life. One day, Mayas father turns up unexpectedly and takes her and Bailey to St. Louis where they live with their mother and her new boyfriend. He rapes Maya, and this "event" is just one of many who turns the young girl into a totally different person. Maya, who used to be a talkative, inquiring girl starts to withdraw from other people, even from Bailey who seems to be her only friend. She doesn't dare talk about what happened, but her mother still finds out, and shortly after that, her rapist is murdered, probably by her mothers familiy.
After that coincidence, Maya and Bailey return to live with Momma again. Back in Stamps, Maya is no longer the young, innocent girl she used to be. She doesn't take things for granted anylonger, she starts to srutinize, and what she realises is that racism is and always will be part of her life. On graduation day, a white speaker who says that black people can be good at sports, but not at academics takes Mayas pride. A dentist for white people refuses to treat her, says that he would rather look into a dogs mouth than into hers.
After a while, Momma sends them away again, to live with their mother once more. For some time, things are pretty great, Maya does well at school, meets a lot of interesting people, and decides to spend the summer with her father. BUt she doesn't get along with his girlfriend, and after a terrible quarrel ending up in a fight, Maya decides to leave and lives in a junkyard for a month, but decides to return home. But problems are waiting there as well. Bailey and her mother don't get along, and he decides to leave home.
Maya tries to find a job, wants to be a streetcar conductor, but black people don't get these kinds of jobs. But Maya keeps trying and finally is hired, decides to return to school after a while.
Wordloving Maya reads some lesbian literature and starts to wonder whether she is lesbian herself. That's why she decides to find a boyfriend, and what she does is walk up to a boy, ask him to have sex with her and, of course, he agrees.
Maya is pregnant, and very afraid. She's afraid of hurting her baby, afraid of not being able to look after it.
But she succeeds:
"Mother whispered: See, you dont have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking."

The story would be shocking enough in itself, BUT: It's Maya Angelous true story, that's what her childhood was like.