Announcer and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Robin roberts, seven rules to live by was a New York Times best seller. And her latest memory, everybodys got something is poised to receive that distinction as well. Its a candid and revealing memory that does not shy away from some of the most intimate aspects of fighting a blood disorder. Its a story of trial over triumph. Youre on the west coast this time. Youre in the chair. I know. I usually see you in the big satellite screen right there. Its always a pleasure to be in your presence in any way. May i say, congratulations on the star, on the hollywood walk of fame. I appreciate it. My momma is proud of me and i know your momma was proud of you. And your momma begins and ends this book. She ends it, the alpha and the omega of this text which i appreciate. It was your mother who told you that everybodys got something. Yeah, you knew mama. You knew her. When i was a little kid, playing in mississippi and somebody would hurt my feelings or something, i was come in, she would say, oh, honey, everybodys got something. Lets move on. And when i got older, and the challenges became little bit more than just someone picking on me. I remember in 2007 when i was diagnosed with cancer, she sweetly said, honey, everybodys got something. It was a way of saying, i see your something, i know. But youve got to realize that everybody goes through something. So what are you going to do . And thats whey tried to impart in this book. The life lessons that i learned to help me get through my something and hopefully get people on the road to something better. Everybody has something and yet there are some of us who are tested time and time and time again. Your mother was a person of a biding faith, az know well. Yes. And i know she naught into you. And yet in the middle of this book, you were honest and candid and im glad you were, about the fact that youi inlooked up at g one day and asked questions, why are you test me so much . People have asked me, tavis, about me faith and going through Something Like this. Yes, i got angry. And yes, i got mad. And i said, god can take it. Yeah. He can take it. Theres a reason and a purpose, you know, make your mess your message. Theres something why youre going through this. So it took me a little longer. With Breast Cancer, i was like got my heavenly message. Im supposed to let people know, especially in our community to get out there, get tested because Early Detection can save lives. I have to admit with this one, i was what . I didnt realize. I had never heard of a bone Marrow Transplant. I didnt know it was possible to donate your stem cells. So im very pleased weve been able to increase the donors that are registering. Yeah. So we know that god can take it. Yeah. The question is whether or not we can take it. Now, there are those of us believe that god never puts more on us than we can bare, yet there are times i think, particularly given what you were up against, that we have to question whether or not we have the capacity the ability the wherewithal to actually endure. We know god can take it, but were you ever in doubt about whether or not you could take it . Yes, i was in doubt. When youre told that you only have a year or two and the possibility of finding a donor at the time i didnt know my sister would be a perfect match, thank you, jesus. There are many times but then i realized, it was really funny, taf tis, especially when i was putting down the audio version of this. And i had to stop sometimes and i almost was who am i talking about . And i realized i was talking about me. The point being, we are all a little bit stronger than we think we are. I would not have thought at certain times in this journey that i would be here with you and that i would be the person that i am just so happy and filled with such gratitude. So i think theres a myth that people feel that people o success that we never are fearful. That were never challenged. That we have some super nova no. Were like everybody else. And its just not saying in that state. You have to change the way you think in order to change the way you feel. I hope this doesnt come wrong as sexist. You were good looking when you were bald, when you got medium hair, head full of hair because that smile just says everything. You chose clearly you signed off on this photo. Tell me why. Because i want people to know first of all, i have a goodshape head. Thank you again. It helps. I dont want to find out again, but im glad i know that. But i really wanted because people sometimes will not seek treatment because there are fearful of losing their hair. And i wanted to show them, you know what im glad you said that. The smile is still there. The person is still there. If somebody is going through it, if it leads to Something Like that to know they too, just keep smiling. Just keep smiling through it. Tell me let me flip it now and go to the worst parts. Give me some sense of what the worst days were like. Worst days were post transplant well, worst day was losing my momma. Losing my mother so close to transplant, it was just a few days before that. And i thought, you know, ive never gone through anything i didnt stub my toe without my momma being there. And to go through Something Like at. So losing my mother was it was its something im still i had to put my grief on hold because the doctors were like we know this but youve got to be mentally its as much mental as physical. But post transplant, tavis, when my throat felt like i had swallowed a blow torch. When i was unable to swallow, unable to eat, unable to think. There was one point that the nurses said they came into the room and i was hallucinating because i was on certain medications on a pain med machine, they said that i was at the foot of my bed interviewing walter kron cite. I was so out of it. But then i thought, well, i was still there because i knew i was a reporter. And not a bad interviewee. Still looking for that silver lining. But those early days at the hospital, before knowing if sister sally cells would take hold. Theres something called graph versus host disease. Lot of people suffer even after having a perfect match. So those early days were i was on these little i was on my bony knees praying constantly. Yeah. I met your sister sally, know her fairly well down in new orleans, number of times over the years, what does a journey like this do for two sisters . Im so thankful that my mother and father and they you know, my father was a tuskegee airman. He would clear his throat and we would clear the room. He was from that generation. And the famous words from momma, wait until your daddy gets home. Thats right. Right. Wait until your daddy gets home. What you didnt want to hear. What did we do . Why . But my folks wouldnt allow us to we were siblings and growing up, yeah, we would fuss at each other and have our challenges and that. But our parents were very good about, no, this is blood. Youre going to work through this. And sally ann is eight years older than i am. I love what she said. She said i cant wait to celebrate your 90th birthday because that will mean im 98. We have that kind of bond. But there is something about i look at her now, tavis, whoo. When she said and i gave her an out when they determined one sister was not a match. And then sally ann was. And i gave her an out and said, you dont have to do this because its an undertaking for that person, too. And when she said to me after some silence, which i was a little worried because sally is usually you know sally ann. But there was a bit of silence. She just quietly said, i just dont want to do this i was born to do this. So to have that kind of love is something else. Your glam team does not want your makeup to run. I know. What you doing to me . These are tears of joy. All good. I understand. Youre not indebted to your sister because shes your sister. And she said she was born to do it. How do you process that . That was one of e my siblings didnt know this. This was one of the last conversations i had with mom. She had a stroke and it was difficult for her to communicate, but she was able to do that. And she did not want me to treat her sally ann, any differently than my big brother butch and my sister dorothy. My mother was very big that we are all the same. We are all equal. Thats why she always would go back to everybody has something that we all are like that. I think that my sister i often have to fuss with her. If you see sister sally, she is always looking up. She wont take the credit. She gives credit to god almighty. Its hard to sometimes sally ann, i realize that and im very thankful, but please know what you did. And her story is so powerful. Shes gone around the country, encouraging people from all communities to register, to be a donor. My sister was the biggest baby when it came to pain. And for her to step up and for her to say, yes, there are some aspects of it that are uncomfortable, but to educate the country on what its like to be a donor and i dedicate the book to her and to others. What a selfless act. What a selfless gift they give. For those of us that are sports fans, that means many of us, and i want to go specifically now inside the black community uhhuh. Ive been praying so hard, just pulling and praying for you and pulling and praying for stew scott. Oh, yes. Whats up with the brothers and sisters at espn. Used to be at espn. Robin and stewart. You got through it and im praying for stewart to get through it. Im a fan of his work. I am, too. It raises this question given what you and stewart and your sister sally ann have been doing. Give us a sense of what you hope the message has been particularly for africanamericans. Well, i can say in particular with mds, which is what i had, myelodysplastic syndrome, once known as preleukemia and needing to that bone Marrow Transplant, what makes our culture so rich and beautiful, makes it hard to find a match. Do you know that a bone Marrow Transplant is a possible cure for sickle cell anemia . Theres 70 conditions where a bone Marrow Transplant can be a gift, can be of service . To just get the gift out. I didnt know sickle cell anemia a bone marrow, yes. Thats what our message has been to not to make yourself available for the registry. When that call comes, make that decision with the doctors and know just what when you find people when i say everybody has something, its not just a challenge. Everybody also has something to give as a resource, as a gift, has something that can help us. We talked about your sister and their righteous role she played in this process. One of the most moving stories in this book, though, is the story of a friend of yours who was turning 50. And you scheduled a particular treatment to make sure that you get to that 50th birthday party. Italy as i recall. Uhhuh. Because she was there at my 50th. Tell me about this story. Youre going through all this but you ve got to get to this birthday party. Im the sports person, goal oriented. Like to have a goal. My goal was, okay, her 50th is in tuscany in september. If i can get there, chances are ill be well enough to have the transplant. When i was first diagnosed in the spring and they said, do you have anything you want to do, i said i want to be there for all the birthday because all the friends were coming together. They were at my birthday a few years before that. And i didnt want to be you know, how sometimes the phone rings and youre like, oh, its that friend. What happened now . Oh, that and i never thought of myself as being that friend. And my friends never made me feel that way. But it was my way of saying, im still here. I know it is important for you and its important for me to be there. And it really set you have to have those goals. That was a real goal of mine. And it was i often thought about tuscany when i was hallucinating and doing all those things and remembered that i was there. That i was still alive. I was having fine wine, laughing with friends, and the thing that my friends and i do, we dont elaborate gifts time. We spend time together. In fact, we have another 50th thats coming up. Going to a dude ranch. Thats love. Can you see me at a dude ranch . But joe wants to go to a dude ranch and dude ranch were going to. Youre the sportswoman. Youve done it all. Yeehaw. Talking about your friend turning 50 reminds me of this story that he or she that has friends must show himself or herself friendly. You have friends, you have to be friendly. This might come across as a softball but its not. I am curious as to what you took away from this. You referenced during this conversation the fact that i recently got a star on the walk of fame, i did and i was honored to do it. I walked out and saw hundreds and hundreds of people on a hollywood street waiting to see me and jay leno was there to speak on my behalf and larry king and my family and friends from around the country flew in. We got a luncheon afterwards. Im still trying to process all the love coming at me on that particular day. That was just me. Youre hosting Good Morning America so millions of people are ch wag you, were all following your story. Tuning in everyday, waiting for you to come back, what must it feel like when you got that much love coming at you . Im telling you. My family said this to me, when i went through Breast Cancer in 2007. People were very kind and great. I kept them at arms length. I shared with them. This time, i allowed myself you have to allow yourself to be loved. Im glad you were able to take in that moment on the walk of fame and see your friends and see all these people and appreciate it. And thats something that i have really learned to do. And theres so many people who have read this book and said, boy, theres so many different lessons here. Its also a lesson on friendship. How to be a friend, on both sides. How to accept friendship and to extend friendship. Ihink its something that is i know has faith, family and friends have really carried me through the most difficult times in my life. Yeah. Give me some sense of what this has done for your world view . Oh, boy. I am not one of those this is the best thing that ever happened to me. I would have loved to learn the lessons that i have learned another way. Not this painful way, but this is the way he wanted me to learn certain lessons. Youve known me a long time. I think the person i am has not changed at all. Its been brought out a little bit more. I feel i take in more of the moments now. I feel a depth to me that i havent before. Its hard to explain. Its not like i my sister when i got out of the hospital was in it for 30 days and much isolation and were in the car riding home. Shes like, are you looking at the trees. And you do kind of look at things just a little bit differently. And the level of appreciation that i have, even though i had it before, again, i want to stress that. You dont have to have Something Like this happen. You shouldnt have Something Like this happen. But do i want to be the same person . You go through Something Like that, do we all go through what we go through to be the exact same . But i think the core of us, those values that we learned, my momma saying, you know right from wrong when i was leaving the house. Those kind of things stay with you but it just heightens. I dont know you well enough to describe in my own words your Work Life Balance, what but has this done to the extent that it has . How has that impacted your Work Life Balance . Oh, boy. It was a good lesson for me because it was there was no balance there to begin with. It was all about work. And i wouldnt allow people to travel with me. Amber is here with me on this trip. She never my girlfriend. She never would have gone with me on a trip because i would have been oh, no, i have to see tavis. Im doing this and doing that. And i dont have time. And i want her here. I want to spend time with friends. I want to have and believe me, let me stress, i get it. Im very blessed. I was out of work for six months. I was on medical leave for six months and had a good job to come back to. There are a lot of people who go through these kind of things. So i dont want to come across and someone say, yeah, sure, its easy for you. But for all of us, we have to just take stock what is most important for us and find a way to make it work for us. Yeah. How do you process death now . Im telling you, funny because i just had a dream the other night about momma. It was a deep dream. I know i scare friends sometimes when i say this, im at peace. Im at peace. Not in a way i mean, im going to leave here like everybody else. Kicking and screaming. Thats right. Dont think im going to give up. Im going to go out kicking and screaming. But when you are there was a time that i oh, boy. When i was in the hospital and hallucinating and just in a really bad state that i would i cant say i thought i was going to die, but i can say i wanted to i was in so much pain and discomfort. And i just when we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be. I dont want to get there any sooner than anybody else does, but knowing my mother and father and just what ive gone through, but i also want to say to people, thank you for the prayers. Thank you for wanting me to still be here with you. And theres not a day thats gone by that someone hasnt come up to me. I was working out in the gym before coming here and a woman, young woman, who was an attendant there shared the story how she lost her mother and father and became very emotional and said how much she prayed for me. Hugged me and said i was so glad i was still here. I am, too. Yeah. Dr. King once famously said and i love this that each of us should do our work so well that the dead, the living or the unborn couldnt do it any better. Thats a high standard. You are awfully good at what you do in the morning. Its a wonderful team. The data bare this out, to a great extent, your being there as a part of this team, thats driven this show to number one in the mornings and kept the ratings there for quite some time. I raise that only because i wonder if you approach your work any different, if you approach your interviews any different, im just trying to get a sense of what robin is like in the chair now . I feel more sensitivity toward the person im speaking with. And i give them the benefit of the doubt more. Meaning, if they i realize that i dont know what their going through. Everybodys got something. Exactly. If i think, why is this person acting like this. Usually in past i would hold it against them not in the interview but now like i kind of realize that i dont know what their day has been like. But i do feel more compassion than i ever have. I do feel, again, that im not the same that i was. Nor do i want to be. And i am really grateful that people watch