Doctors removed my gallbladder and pancreas, which are supposed to break down sugar and alcohol.

I'm going to dress a little different. Those frilly dresses I used to wear on stage, that was the old me.

I don't want to be home just taking medicine and waiting to die, you know? That's not something I'm about.

I'll be staying in touch and keeping my fans and friends updated on my progress. I'm looking forward to getting back on the road to give the people what they want.

As for me, I rarely write a song. But when I do write a song, like "Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects," which came to me at three a.m. one morning, on a whim - I get a percentage.

I remember my sister and I - my big sister would get up on her chair in the kitchen and sing Mary Wells' "What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One." It was 1966, and I was 10 years old.

My friend Megan Holken is a nutritionist. I have spent some time at her home upstate in Sharon Springs, where she told me how to eat right and cook right.