“I see myself being a great-grandmother at my great-grandson's graduation from a school that has my name on it.”

“When I first became famous, I didn't know if I could go where I wanted to because I didn't know how people were going to act. Some folks would scream and holler, and I didn't know what to do with t...”

“People is, I think, it's their nature - some people's nature, in a way, to be angry or jealous or just spiteful about somebody else's blessings.”

“As slavery died for the greater good of America, and the movement for equality sputtered to life, the white woman was on the cover of every American magazine. She was the dazzling jewel on every mo...”

“Soul music is about longevity and reaching and touching people on a human level - and that's never going to get lost.”

“Heartbreak was the impetus to me writing poems and music in the first place. Over the years, I had my heart broken so badly that if I didn't find a way to get all the pain out, I was going to lose ...”

“No. Ye loved him. I canna hold it against either of you that ye mourn him. And it gives me some comfort to know ..." He hesitated, and I reached up to smooth the rumpled hair off his face."To know ...”

“In his arms Ive finally found the place Ive been looking for, where fear cant touch me, where memories cant reach, where the past is forgotten and the present is enough. Where the present is, in fa...”

“Our relationship with the world can only be better when we know ourselves well!”

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”

“Healing starts the moment you accept the truth about what has happened. But healing doesnt come quickly. When you know that death or pain has come, you face a moment when you stare that pain in the...”