Oprah Winfrey Book Summary

Oprah Winfrey Book Summary Preview

The story begins with a young black woman born in rural Mississippi. Her mother is only a teenager, and she struggles through cycles of poverty and oppression during the contentious Civil Rights Movement. She is molested and has her own child at only fourteen years old -- the baby is born prematurely and dies only a few weeks later. 

This sounds like a story of grief and pain, and it is. But it’s also the story of the first black multi-billionaire in America. Oprah Winfrey’s struggle from an impoverished and abused child to the Queen of All Media is the ultimate bootstraps narrative of persistence, resilience, and success. Oprah’s inspirational story is a powerful tale of rising above oppressive systems to embrace your true calling. It is also a story of creativity, drive, and collaboration. 

Southern Roots 

Oprah began her life as the daughter of an unwed, teenage mother in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Oprah’s mother, Vernita Lee, worked as a housemaid. She named her child Orpah, after the sister-in-law of the Biblical Ruth, but it was mispronounced so often that eventually Oprah stuck. 

Almost immediately after Oprah’s birth, Vernita traveled to find work to support her daughter. She left Oprah with her mother, Hattie Mae Lee. Hattie Mae was so poor that Oprah spent most of her formative years in dresses made from potato sacks. Hattie Mae taught Oprah how to read at age three, and Oprah became known as “The Preacher” as a child because of her uncanny ability to recite Bible verses. 

Around age six, Oprah moved to Milwaukee to be with her mother. Vernita was working long hours as a maid to support both Oprah and Oprah’s younger half-sister, Patricia. The home was not supportive or loving -- soon after arriving Oprah moved to Nashville to be with her father Vernon Winfrey. 

Oprah returned to live with her mother once more during her teenage years. By then, Vernita has given birth to two more children. Oprah attended high school in Milwaukee, where her work as an honors student in the Upward Bound program allowed her to transfer to an affluent school in the suburbs. She was embarrassed by her poverty and often rode the bus to school with other African American women who worked as servants in the homes of her classmates. She began stealing from her mother to hide her poverty and was once again sent to live with her father in Nashville. 

Vernon Winfrey was also a self-made man. He had worked his way up from an Army grunt and coal miner into a successful career as a barber and eventually became a city councilman. He was strict with his daughter but supported her educational goals. Under his care, Oprah excelled in school and won an oratory contest that earned her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. She won Miss Black Tennessee at seventeen, where she was noticed by a local black radio station, WVOL. For Oprah, this was the beginning of a long career in the media spotlight. 

Rising Through the Ranks 

Oprah’s...

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