Oprah Winfrey chose “Matril” Tina Knowlesas her latest book club pick. Personal memoirs detail Knowles’s journey through life, from growing up in Texas, isolated Texas to raising musical superstar Beyoncé Solange.
When he appeared in “CBS Morning,” Winfrey praised the memoir for its intimate yet universal appeal.
“What you did is something I find very difficult to do when you’re writing memoirs. It’s not just about telling your story intimately and personally, but it’s just about making it universal,” Winfrey told Knowles. “I believe that every person with a mother and every person who is a mother will love this story.”
The book contains revelations that surprised even Winfrey, including Knowles’ previously undisclosed battle with cancer.
Knowledge, dubbed “Bad Donkey B,” was called a child due to her straightforward nature, and expressed both excitement and tension in sharing her story.
“It’s a great day…but I’m still a bit uneasy because you’re just putting it out into the world,” she said.
Memoirs began as a much larger project.
“I started with 1,000 pages,” Knowles said, laughing at her publisher’s insistence on the cut, “No one is going to read a 1,000 page book.”
“I tried so hard to tell stories without telling other people’s stories. It’s really difficult,” Knowles said.
Knowles said she hopes people will be inspired by some of the stories she overcame.
“We also hope that people will do family tree and enter heritage and ancestors,” she said.
She also said she has a desire to leave a legacy to future generations of her family.
“I didn’t know my grandparents, so this is one of the reasons I want to do it: leave it for my grandchildren.
“The best, important work”
The memoir also chronicles the decades of marriage to Beyoncé and Solange’s father, Matthew Knowles. She revealed that her children were not entirely aware of the couple’s repetitive, repetitive relationship until they were older.
“There was a time when I broke up and they were so young, they were devastated, and they never knew why,” Knowles explained. “It’s difficult until they get older because they don’t want to put it on their kids.”
Winfrey pointed out how Knowles sent both daughters to therapy at an early age, and appreciated each other’s talents. It was a progressive child-rearing choice at the time.
“She knew early on that girls’ relationships with each other needed to be balanced, and she spoke as if she felt she couldn’t do her own thing entirely,” Winfrey said.
The book also reveals personal details about Knowles’ childhood, including her experiences of racism and the fact that her maiden is Beyoncé.
Knowles also shares how she named the child of the group Destiny.
“I put their photos in the NIV Study Bible. One day I opened it and said, ‘Fate’. And I think that’s the name.
Looking back at motherhood, Knowles called it “the best, important work of your life,” and, despite her rebellious young man, “I said I had to control myself. I had to be intentional and intentional… I didn’t want to ruin it.”
“Matriarch” is currently available, and Knowles is embarking on a book tour to promote it. You can get “The Oprah Podcasts” and podcasts anywhere, available on YouTube.
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