Motivational, Authors, Black & African American, Criticism & Theory, United States, Literary, Quotations 

This inspirational book juxtaposes quotations, one to a page, drawn from Toni Morrison's entire body of work, both fiction and nonfiction--from "The Bluest Eye" to "God Help the Child", from "Playing in the Dark" to "The Source of Self-Regard"--to tell a story of self-actualization. It aims to evoke the totality of Toni Morrison's literary vision.

Its compelling sequence of flashes of revelation--stunning for their linguistic originality, keenness of psychological observation, and philosophical profundity--addresses issues of abiding interest in Morrison's work: the reach of language for the ineffable; transcendence through imagination; the self and its discontents; the vicissitudes of love; the whirligig of memory; the singular power of women; the original American sin of slavery; the bankruptcy of racial oppression; the complex humanity and art of black people. "The Measure of Our Lives" brims with elegance of style and mind and moral authority.