Thread:Phoenix1998/@comment-24361712-20140529025038/@comment-24588058-20140529203747

I had to Wikipedia her, but I found out about the mute incident.

{At the age of eight, while living with her mother, Angelou was sexually abused and raped by her mother's boyfriend, a man named Freeman. She told her brother, who told the rest of their family. Freeman was found guilty but was jailed for only one day. Four days after his release, he was murdered (kicked to death), probably by Angelou's uncles. In response, Angelou became mute for almost five years, believing, as she stated, "I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone ..."}

I think that maybe something from her childhood would have absorbed the incident. Maybe a childhood doll or toy?

There are other artifacts here, I think. Her extraordinary memory and her poetry are part of her personality, so maybe a handwritten poem about one of her discussion topics and a locket that improves memory?