© Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock Cicely Tyson

1. Cicely Tyson Memoir Book
2. Just As I Am Cicely Tyson Book
3. Cicely Tyson Memoir

I'm getting ready to read the memoir by Cicely Tyson 'Just As I Am.' I know it's going to be a good read. She writes, 'Just as I Am' is my truth. Cicely Tyson's memoir is an excellent example of how to do so. This is Black History personified and I'm grateful Ms. Tyson left this wonderful gift, a written account of her legacy. In no way is this account obnoxious or meant to persuade the reader how great of an actress Cicely Tyson is; rather it is a reflection of African American life.

Cicely Tyson was a screen and TV legend, but the star kept her personal life private —including her relationship with her only daughter.

• Cicely Tyson was a screen and TV legend, but the star kept her personal life private —including her relationship with her only daughter. Tyson, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, opened up.
• “In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only exceeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history.” (President Barack Obama, 2016 Presidential Medal of Honor ceremony) 'Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside.
• Tyson shares activism through art. Tyson begins the book's second act with a quote from Charles.

Tyson, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, opened up about her relationship with her daughter in her memoir Just As I Am, choosing to keep her daughter's real name private and refer to her as 'Joan.'

The Sounder star also dedicated her memoir, which is out now, to Joan, writing that her daughter was 'the one who has paid the greatest price for this gift to all,' and signed the dedication, 'Love, Mom.'

Tyson, who married her first husband Kenneth Franklin in December 1942, gave birth to Joan in February 1943 when she was 18 years old.

When their daughter was 2, Tyson left Franklin, writing that while he was 'a good man,' she 'felt strongly' about her decision.

The Oscar-nominated actress worked several jobs to make ends meet and raise her daughter, with the help of her mother. Tyson's dream was to give Joan, whom she affectionately called 'my beloved princess,' an 'education superior to my own.'

Tyson would often wake up before the sun rose to prepare her daughter for school until she decided to send Joan to a boarding school miles away from their home in New York City.

The long distance between them, Tyson wrote, was painful.

'I do not regret that I chose to earn a living in the manner in which I did, or that I arranged for Joan to attend school in a world miles north of mine,' Tyson wrote. 'But I do mourn that my child, during the years she hungered to have me close, felt my absence so profoundly.'

Cicely Tyson Memoir Book

Tyson also opened up about why she so rarely spoke about her daughter, explaining, 'Joan felt, as a child, that she had to share me with the world. I give her now, in adulthood, what my heart has always longed to bestow — my undivided focus, along with the full measure of her privacy.'

Just As I Am Cicely Tyson Book

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On Thursday, the actress' manager Larry Thompson revealed in a statement that Tyson had died.

Cicely Tyson Memoir

'I have managed Miss Tyson's career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,' Thompson said. 'Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.'