Getting older is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wake up every morning rejoicing that I'm still here with an opportunity to begin again and be better

Only make decisions that support your self-image, self-esteem, and self-worth.

I tried to empty myself and let the spirit of Sethe inhabit me.

Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand.

Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.

I think I try to speak to the heart of the woman who I know is interested in growing into herself.

I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.