>> WHEN MY MOTHER SAT THERE LOOKING AT THIS FILM, AND I REALIZE, THAT WAS THE POINT OF COURSE, WAS THAT LAST SHE COULD SIT IN THIS THEATER AND SEE SOMETHING THAT HAD SOME MEANING WITH HER OWN LIFE.

PARIS: WELCOME TO GBH NEWS' “ROOTED.” I'M PARIS ALSTON.

THIS MONTH, WE'RE BRINGING YOU SOMETHING EXCITING CALLED “ROOTED REMEMBERS.” WE'RE DIGGING THROUGH THE ARCHIVES OF SAY BROTHER AND BASIC BLACK, WHICH PAVED THE WAY FOR GBH NEWS' “ROOTED,” TO REMEMBER SOME OF THE STORIES AND PEOPLE THAT BROUGHT US TO THE PRESENT.

WE END OUR SERIES WITH AUTHOR ALICE WALKER, WHOSE WORK HAS TOUCHED GENERATIONS OF READERS WORLDWIDE, BUT IT WAS HER PULITZER PRIZE WINNING BOOK, “THE COLOR PURPLE,” THAT TOOK THE WORLD BY STORM.

THIS YEAR MARKS THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACADEMY AWARD WINNING FILM ADAPTATION OF “THE COLOR PURPLE,” WHICH HAS NOW BEEN MADE INTO A BROADWAY PLAY AND MOTION PICTURE MUSICAL.

THE 1985 FILM GROSSED MORE THAN $90 MILLION AND FEATURED MEDIA ICONS OPRAH WINFREY AND WHOOPI GOLDBERG, BUT IT WAS CRITICISM FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY THAT WALKER REMEMBERED MOST.

TODAY, AS THE BOOK APPEARS ON MANY BANNED LISTS, WE REVISIT A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR SARA LAWRENCE-LIGHTFOOT, WHO SAT DOWN WITH ALICE WALKER TO DISCUSS HER PAIN, HER WRITING PROCESS, AND WHAT STILL BRINGS HER JOY, IN “CROSSING LINES” WITH ALICE WALKER.

>> ALICE WALKER, MOST NOTED FROM HER 1983 PULITZER PRIZE WINNING NOVEL, "THE COLOR PURPLE," IS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF OTHER WORKS, INCLUDING, YOU CAN KEEP A GOOD WOMAN DOWN, POSSESSING THE SECRET OF JOY, MARINE, THE TEMPLE OF MY FAMILIAR, AND LIVING BY THE WORD.

BUT WHEN STEVEN SPIELBERG AND QUINCY JONES BROUGHT THE COLOR PURPLE TO THE SILVER SCREEN, WALKER’S PEACEFUL LIFE AS A RECLUSIVE WRITER SCREECHED TO A HALT.

OR JARRING, HOWEVER, WAS THE PAINFUL PERSONAL CRITICISM SHE ENDURED FROM WITHIN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, FOR THE FILMS PERCEIVED NEGATIVE TRAIL OF LACK MEN AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR WOMEN.

NOW, 10 YEARS LATER, ALICE WALKER HAS WRITTEN ABOUT HER PAIN AS WELL AS HER OWN STRUGGLE WITH LYME DISEASE.

HER MOTHER’S DEATH AFTER A 13 YEAR ILLNESS, AND THE BETRAYAL OF HER LOVE AND BEST FRIEND, IN HER NEW BOOK "THE SAME RIVER TWICE, HONORING THE DIFFICULT."

>> ONCE WE ENTER THE LABYRINTH, ORDINARY TIME AND DISTANCE ARE IMMATERIAL.

WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A RITUAL AND A JOURNEY WHERE TRANSFORMATION IS POSSIBLE.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW FAR AWAY OR CLOSE WE ARE TO THE CENTER, WHERE MEANING CAN BE FOUND, UNTIL WE ARE THERE.

>> THIS IS A BOOK THAT I LOVED READING.

IT IS ACTUALLY A TEN-YEAR RESPONSE TO THE COLOR PURPLE, TWO PEOPLE ASKING YOU WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO HAVE THIS VERY INTIMATE NOVEL OF YOURS TURNED INTO A BIG-SCREEN HOLLYWOOD FILM BY STEVEN SPIELBERG.

I’D LIKE TO LEAN IN AND ASKED ABOUT WHAT I THINK MINA BEEN ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL PIECES, WHICH IS WHEN YOU CAME OUT WITH THE COLOR PURPLE, AND THEN WHEN IT CAME OUT AS A BOOK, MANY PEOPLE FROM OUR COMMUNITY THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE MALIGNING BLACK MEN.

>> I WAS ACTUALLY AMAZED BY IT, I WAS AMAZED THAT THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE GOT FROM IT.

TO ME, IT WAS FULL OF LOVE AND REDEMPTION, AND MY GRANDFATHER IS ALL OVER IT IN TERMS OF SPIRIT AND IN TERMS OF MY RELATIONSHIP TO HIM, WHICH WAS VERY WARM AND VERY WONDERFUL.

AND I THINK THAT ALSO, SOME OF THE RESPONSES WERE JUST OUT OF A KIND OF IGNORANCE, BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAD GREAT, SWEEPING HOSTILITY AND CRITICISM, WHO ADMITTED THEY NEVER READ THE BOOK, THEY’VE NEVER SEEN THE FILM.

SO THIS WAS ABOUT THEIR INSECURITY.

IT WASN’T ABOUT ANYTHING I HAD DONE.

NOR DO I THINK OF MYSELF NOW IS TRYING TO ANSWER THESE PEOPLE.

SOME OF THEM HAVE DIED, SOME OF THEM HAVE GONE THROUGH OTHER TRANSITIONS, SO IT’S NOT EVEN ABOUT THAT.

IT’S REALLY ABOUT SHARING WITH PEOPLE THIS PROCESS, WHICH WAS EXTREMELY INTERESTING, AND ALSO CHALLENGING.

AND SAYING TO THE YOUTH, THAT YES INDEED, WE GO THROUGH THESE INCREDIBLE CHANGES AS HUMAN BEINGS, AND YOU CAN GET THROUGH THEM.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY BE THOROUGHLY TRASHED IN THIS CULTURE AND SURVIVED AND HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE.

AND THAT IS WHAT I AM SAYING.

I’M NOT TRYING TO RAKE UP ANYTHING FROM THE PAST.

>> IT FEELS VERY SOUTHERN AND VERY BLACK.

I GRANDFATHER WAS AN EPISCOPAL PREACH AND DEDICATED TO THE CHURCH, FOR SURE.

HE WAS LESS INTERESTING AS A RELIGIOUS MAN TO ME AS HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, AND TO HIS DAUGHTER, MY MOTHER, AND MORE SPIRITUAL MAN, BECAUSE HE ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SPIRIT.

SOMETHING WOULD SAY TO HIM, I MUST DO THUS AND SO.

AND IT WAS ALWAYS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

AND IT WAS ALWAYS A MAJOR INTERVENTION.

>> THAT’S BECAUSE YOUR MOM AND YOUR GRANDFATHER REALLY UNDERSTOOD HOW GOOD YOU FEEL, HOW MUCH YOU NOURISH YOURSELF WHEN YOU DO THAT.

I THINK FOR A LONG TIME I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THAT ABOUT MY MOTHER AND HER WILLINGNESS TO HELP OUT THE NEIGHBORS, HER WILLINGNESS TO TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE’S CHILDREN.

I KIND OF THOUGHT THAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT SORT OF OUR SUFFERING TO DO THIS, BUT THAT WAS ENTIRELY WRONG.

MY MOTHER WAS VERY CHEERFUL, AND WAS BECAUSE SHE WAS LED BY THIS INNER SPIRIT TO BE THIS WAY.

AND IT KEPT HER HAPPY.

AND THAT’S HOW I FEEL ABOUT MYSELF.

>> DO YOU THINK THAT IS INHERITED?

>> PARTLY, BUT I ALSO THINK WE ALL HAVE IT.

WE ALL HAVE THAT LITTLE VOICE COME THAT LITTLE SPIRIT SAYING, EXPAND, GIVE OF YOURSELF.

AND YOU WILL SEE THAT YOU WILL FEEL MUCH BETTER.

YOU WILL BE HEALED.

IT’S A WAY OF FEELING.

>> I THINK IT IS, WHEN YOU SAY GET RID OF ALL THIS NOISE IN ORDER TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE, THIS SPIRITUAL THIS, THAT’S ONE OF THE HUGE PROBLEMS TODAY, IT’S JUST SO FRANTIC.

THERE’S SO MUCH NOISE, SO MUCH BUSYNESS TO CARVE THIS SPACE OUT AND EXIST SO YOU CAN HEAR THESE MESSAGES I THINK IS TO ME THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE.

HOW DO YOU DO IT?

>> WELL, I DID I THINK INHERIT THIS, NOT IN MY JEANS, BUT FROM WATCHING MY MOTHER’S LIFE WHICH WAS ALWAYS BUSY.

THERE WAS SOME WAY SHE WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO BE PRESENT WITH WHATEVER SHE WAS WITH.

SHE COULD BLOCK OUT ALL THE OTHER THINGS ARE CALLING ON HER, DEMANDING OF HER, INSISTING THAT SHE BE THERE.

SHE WOULD JUST BE PRESENT, AND THAT MEANT THAT AS A MOTHER, WHATEVER I SPENT WITH HER, I FELT THIS ATTENTION AND CONNECTION, ENERGY.

THIS IS THE WAY -- I STILL CAN DO THIS, I CAN MEET MY MOTHER IN THE AIRPORT SOMEPLACE AND WE CAN JUST HAVE AN HOUR TOGETHER AND IT WILL FEEL LIKE WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER A WEEK BECAUSE WE’VE NOURISHED ONE ANOTHER WITH COMPLETE ATTENTION.

THIS IS ANOTHER THING THAT IS SO FASCINATING ABOUT THIS BOOK.

IT’S ABOUT LOSING YOUR MOTHER TO DEATH.

>> THE FILM WAS BEING MADE JUST BEFORE SHE HAD HAD THE STROKE, AND THEN SHE WAS IMMOBILIZED FOR 13 YEARS, AND I FOUND THAT ALMOST UNBEARABLE.

AFTER A WHILE, I COULDN’T EVEN LET MYSELF THINK ABOUT IT, BECAUSE SHE WAS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST ACTIVE PEOPLE.

>> SO SHE COULDN’T GARDEN, SHE COULDN’T DO ANYTHING.

>> SHE COULDN’T GET OUT OF BED.

SHE HAD NURSES AROUND THE CLOCK.

SHE WANTED TO STAY IN HER OWN HOUSE.

SHE LIVED THE LIFE THAT SHE WANTED, GIVEN HER CONDITION, AND I WAS HAPPY TO MAKE SURE THAT COULD BE.

AND I FELT IT AS A GREAT HONOR, BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT THERE ARE DAYS WHEN I COULDN’T THINK ABOUT THAT, I JUST COULDN’T BEAR THAT SHE COULDN’T BE HERSELF.

>> SHE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE FILM, DIDN’T SHE?

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HER RESPONSE TO THAT?

>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, SHE WAS INCAPACITATED PHYSICALLY, AND EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD TO GO ON A STRETCHER, SHE WANTED TO WEAR HER HIGH HEEL SHOES.

[LAUGHTER] >> I LOVE IT!

>> SO WE DRESSED MOM UP AND PUT ON HER HIGH-HEELED SHOES AND PUT HER ON THE STRETCHER AND TOOK HER TO THE THEATER.

>> NOW, WAS THIS THE PREVIEW?

>> NO, WE BROUGHT THE FILM TO THIS LITTLE TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF GEORGIA, TOTALLY SEGREGATED AND MY MOTHER’S ENTIRE LIFE AND MOST OF MINE, TO A LITTLE THEATER THAT WAS COMPLETELY SEGREGATED FROM THE 60’S.

AND THAT IS WHERE WE SHOW THIS FILM, WITH EVERYBODY SITTING EVERYWHERE.

SO THIS WAS A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR HER.

>> THE BLACK FOLKS NOT UP IN THE GALLERY.

>> EVERYBODY WAS EVERY -- EVERYWHERE, AND MY MOTHER THERE.

AND REBECCA CAME, EVERYBODY CAME.

BUT WHEN MY MOTHER SAT THERE LOOKING AT THIS FILM, IT WAS SO MOVING TO ME, BECAUSE I REALIZED, AND THIS WAS THE POINT, OF COURSE, THAT AT LAST, SHE COULD SIT IN THIS THEATER AND SEE SOMETHING THAT HAD SOME MEANING FOR HER OWN LIFE.

REAL MEANING, AS OPPOSED TO HOPALONG CASSIDY AND ALL THOSE WESTERNS AND ALL THOSE MOVIES ABOUT PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN NEW YORK.

YOU KNOW, JUST ALL THE FLUFF.

AND IN WHICH ALL THE BLACK PEOPLE WERE SERVANTS, WHEN THERE WERE LIKE PEOPLE.

OR BUFFOONS, OR CLOWNS.

SO THIS WAS VERY GOOD, AND SHE REALLY LOVED IT.

SHE FELT SHE COULD FEEL HER OWN MOTHER IN IT.

>> I REMEMBER YOU SAYING THAT PART ABOUT HER FEELING, IDENTIFYING IN TERMS OF HER MOTHER BEING IN THE FILM, AS ONE OF HER GREATEST PLEASURES.

IT WAS THAT RESIDENCE, SUITE IS EXACTLY THE WORD FOR IT.

AND SHE HAD NOT READ YOUR BOOK, SO THIS WAS THE FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH "THE COLOR PURPLE."

>> I THINK MY MOTHER HAD BEEN HORRIFIED BY THE SEVERE HOSTILITY THAT HAD BEEN DIRECTED AT THE BOOK AND FILM.

REALLY THINK SHE FEARED WHAT I HAD DONE, YOU KNOW, AND WE WERE SO CLOSE, I THINK SHE WAS AFRAID, AND ALSO SHE HAD READ THE FIRST PAGE, AND MY MOTHER WAS SUCH A DEVOUT WOMAN, AND SO CLEAN OF SPEECH AND THOUGHT, I HAVE NEVER HEARD MY MOTHER SAY "DAMN."

SO HERE SHE OPEN THIS BOOK AND RIGHT AWAY I’M USING WHAT SHE CALLED THIS ABSOLUTE GUTTER LANGUAGE.

AND SHE COULDN’T TAKE IT.

SO I THINK THAT WAS PART OF WHY IT WAS NECESSARY FOR HER TO SEE THE FILM.

SHE WAS NOT A BOOK READING PERSON ANYWAY, BUT SHE WAS VERY USED TO GOING TO THE MOVIES EVERY SATURDAY.

SO IT WORKED OUT.

>> SINCE MY BOOK, THE COLOR PURPLE, WAS FILMED 10 YEARS AGO, I HAVE BEEN ASKED INNUMERABLE TIMES ABOUT MY OPINION OF THE RESULT.

I HAVE FOUND IT ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT QUESTIONS I HAVE EVER TRIED TO ANSWER.

OR MANY YEARS, I BEGAN MY RESPONSE BY TALKING ABOUT THE HEADACHE I GOT THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE FILM.

PETER GOOGLER, A PRODUCER, HAD WARNED ME THAT ON FIRST VIEWING I MIGHT BE SHOCKED.

I WAS TO BE GRATEFUL FOR THE WARNING.

I SAW THE FILM IN A HUGE THEATER WITH ONLY TWO OTHER PEOPLE.

AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT SEEMED WRONG, ESPECIALLY THE OFFPUTTING MUSICAL SCORE, WHICH SOUNDED LIKE IT BELONGED IN "OKLAHOMA."

>> ONE OF THE THINGS YOU TALKED ABOUT WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THE FILM WAS THAT IT WAS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE SCRIPT THAT YOU HAD WRITTEN, MAYBE PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT YOU WROTE THE SCRIPT FOR THE FILM.

AND ULTIMATELY IT WASN’T THE ONE THAT YOU USED.

>> EXACTLY.

>> WHAT WERE SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SCREENPLAY THAT YOU WROTE AND THAT FILM THAT EMERGED ON THE SCREEN?

>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO SAY THAT I WROTE THIS SCRIPT, AND THIS WAS AT A TIME WHEN I WAS USING A CANE AND ALL OF THAT, BUT I WROTE IT BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO SEND CHARACTERS DOWN TO BURBANK ALONE.

THAT WAS BASICALLY MY THINKING.

BUT THEN WHEN THAT DIDN’T WORK OUT, AND I THINK THAT THERE WERE FORCES THAT MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO USE MY SCRIPT REALLY, BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING CRITICIZED FOR THE LESBIAN ASPECT AND THE HATRED, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST REALLY MAKING LIFE HARD.

BUT ANYWAY, IN MY SCRIPT, CELIE AND SHUG HAVE A LIFE THAT BLOSSOM.

THE ACTIVITY OF MISTER IS SORT OF A BACKTRACK -- BACKDROP TO THE LIFE THAT THEY HAVE TOGETHER.

>> IS AND IT ALSO TRUE THAT YOU WERE WANTING TO MAKE SHUG MORE EXPLICITLY BISEXUAL, CELIE MORE EXPLICITLY LESBIAN, WANTING TO BRING OUT THESE ISSUES OF WOMEN SEXUALITY, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING WHICH HOLLYWOOD COULDN’T EMBRACE.

>> I ALSO THINK IT WAS A QUESTION OF EMOTIONAL MATURITY.

THAT AFTER SCHINDLER’S LIST, STEVEN SPIELBERG MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE A LOT MORE FEARLESS.

BUT I ALSO THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT TO ASK OF HIM AS A WHITE JEWISH MAN TO TAKE ON THIS AND ALL THE WAYS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE TAKEN ON.

I JUST ASSUMED THIS IS THE STORY THAT IS FILMED.

AND LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY.

BUT I THINK IN TRYING TO DOWNPLAY THAT AND TO PULL UP THE MALE MISOGYNY, THE WHOLE TENDERNESS THAT SURROUNDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF MISTER IS SKEWED.

>> WHICH IS REALLY YOUR LOVE, YOU ARE ABLE TO LOVE THIS CHARACTER.

>> ABSOLUTELY, THIS IS BASED ON MY GRANDFATHER, WHO WAS A TERRIBLE PERSON BEFORE I WAS BORN.

BY THE TIME I WAS BORN, HE WAS WONDERFUL.

>> AND YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO HIM AND HE TREATED YOU LIKE THAT.

ONE OF THE BIG THEMES HAS TO DO WITH VULNERABILITY AND ILLNESS.

BOTH OF US IN OUR MID-LIVES HAVE GONE THROUGH MAJOR ILLNESS.

YOU SPEAK ABOUT LYME DISEASE AND YOUR DISCOVERY OF LYME DISEASE BEING VERY, VERY SPECIFIC BEFORE WE EVEN KNEW WHAT IT WAS.

>> I WAS LEFT TO THINK ALL KINDS OF SCARY THOUGHTS, BECAUSE I HAD NO IDEA.

NEW ABOUT SYPHILIS, I READ ABOUT THIS CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME THAT VERY SMART WOMEN GET, AND SO I THOUGHT, OH NO, KIND OF LOUNGING ON MY COUCH FATIGUED, AND SURE ENOUGH I WAS JUST REALLY FATIGUED FOR YEARS.

AND I HAD TO USE A CANE, BUT WITH MY SENSE OF STYLE, AND OF COURSE YOUR APPRECIATE THIS.

[LAUGHTER] >> YES, YOU PICKED IT UP.

>> IS A DRAGON WITH A PEARL IN ITS MOUTH.

>> SOUNDS FABULOUS.

AND HOW LONG DID YOU WALK WITH THIS CANE?

>> ABOUT THREE YEARS.

>> AND WE DID YOU ULTIMATELY DISCOVER THAT IT WAS LYME DISEASE AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO COME BACK FROM IT?

>> I FIGURED IT OUT AFTER PEOPLE STARTED DISCUSSING THAT YOU COULD BE BITTEN BY THESE DEER TICKS AND, I REMEMBERED I HAD HAD THESE THREE TICKS AND I HAD BEEN BITTEN, AND I THOUGHT NOTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE I’M A SOUTHERN GIRL AND WE HAVE TICKS ALL THE TIME.

I HAD ALL THE SYMPTOMS, AND I REALIZED THAT WAS WHAT IT HAPPENED, AND THE ONLY WAY I CURED MYSELF WAS BY FORCING MYSELF TO REALLY TRY TO LIVE MY ORIGINAL, ACTIVE LIFE RATHER THAN GIVING INTO ILLNESS.

WE ALL HAVE THESE CRISES OF FAITH, JEWISH PEOPLE AND THE CHRISTIANS AND THE MUSLIMS, THERE’S ALWAYS THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU THINK, OH, NO, MY GOD HAS JUST SAID FORGET IT, MY GOD IS NOT WITH ME.

SO WHEN I WAS BITTEN BY THESE TICKS AND I’M GETTING SO ILL, I THOUGHT THE EARTH HAS REALLY BETRAYED ME, THIS WHOLE LOVE THAT I HAVE WITH NATURE, NATURE HAS TURNED ON ME.

AND SO FOR A LONG TIME I WASN’T ABLE TO GARDEN BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID.

SO THE LESSON REALLY WAS THAT EVEN THOUGH NATURE CAN HURT US, AND IT CAN GET REALLY COLD OUT THERE IN THE SNOW, THE SUN CAN SCORCH US, TICS CAN BITE US, SCORPIONS CAN STING US, WHATEVER.

I STILL HAVE MY OWN LITTLE CONNECTION TO IT, AND I CAN STILL DEVELOP IT AND BE TOTALLY RENEWED BY IT.

>> I BELONG TO A PEOPLE, HEART AND MIND, WHO DO NOT TRUST MIRRORS.

NOT THOSE IN ANY CASE IN WHICH WE OURSELVES APPEAR.

THE EMPTY MIRROR, THE ONE THAT REFLECTS NOSES AND HAIR UNLIKE OUR OWN, AND A PROSPERITY AND HARMONY WE MAY NEVER HAVE KNOWN, GIVES US PEACE.

OUR SHAME IS DEEP.

FOR SHAME IS THE RESULT OF SOUL INJURY.

I BELONG TO A PEOPLE SO ROUTED BY BETRAYAL, SO HURT BY MISPLACING THEIR TRUST, THAT TO OFFER US A GIFT OF LOVE IS OFTEN TO RISK ONE’S LIFE.

CERTAINLY ONE’S NAME AND REPUTATION.

>> THE WORD BETRAYAL MAKES ME THINK OF SOMETHING THAT GRABBED ME AND I’M SURE GRABBED MANY WOMEN, YOUR STORY OF ROBERT’S BETRAYAL IN THIS BOOK.

HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER WOMAN, I THINK A FRIEND OF YOURS.

>> A FRIEND OF HIS.

>> THIS IS A MAN YOU HAD KNOWN FOR 30 YEARS, BEST FRIEND, BEEN A LOVER OF FOR 13 YEARS, AND HE TELLS YOU MUCH LATER THAT HE HAS HAD THIS RELATIONSHIP FOR YEARS, STUNNING, PARTICULARLY AT A TIME WHEN YOU’RE GETTING SUCH PUBLIC ABUSE, AND WHERE YOU ARE SICK YOURSELF, I THINK.

SO THESE THINGS ARE ALL CONVERGING, MAKING ONE BIG, HUGE , TERRIBLE TRAUMA.

>> I THINK IT IS CALL BEING KICKED WHILE YOU ARE DOWN.

[LAUGHTER] >> THERE YOU GO.

BUT MORE STRIKING TO ME THAN THAT, BECAUSE I THINK ALL OF US CAN RELATE TO THAT, MY TEARS CAN COME IN RESPONSE TO THAT, IS HOW YOU CAME BACK FROM THAT.

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, ON EMBITTERED?

>> I JUST WASN’T GOING TO LET IT GET ME DOWN.

I HAD MY VERY SAD DAYS, BUT I LOVE LIFE.

I LOVE LIFE SO MUCH, I EVEN LOVE DEATH.

I LOVE ALL OF IT.

AND THERE’S A WAY IN WHICH I JUST HAD FAITH THAT I WOULD KEEP TRYING TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE, HONEST, GOOD PERSON WITH THIS PERSON WHO HAD DONE THIS THING, AND WHO WAS SORRY.

AND WHO HAD BAD TIMING, AND WHO TRY TO FACE HIS ENVY OF MY SUCCESS, WHICH WAS VERY HARD.

THAT FEELING OF LOVING SOMEONE WHO IS HOBBLED BY ENVY OF WHAT YOU DO, WHAT YOU CAN DO IN THE WORLD, RATHER THAN JOYFUL.

BUT I JUST DECIDED THAT, AND TOGETHER WITH HIM, THAT WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT, WE WOULD HAVE TO STRUGGLE WITH IT, WE WOULD HAVE THERAPY, WE WOULD HAVE WHATEVER IT TOOK, SO THAT WE COULD PART AND BE PEOPLE WHO STILL LAUGH AND JOKE AND GO ON WALKS AND SWIMS, AND ALL OF THAT.

BECAUSE THIS IS A GOOD PERSON.

AND ONE OF MY OLDEST FRIENDS.

AND I JUST AM NOT INTERESTED IN TOSSING PEOPLE AWAY OR PUSHING THEM AWAY OR JUDGING THEM SO EARLY THAT I NEVER WANT TO SEE THEM AGAIN.

ALL OF MY OLD FRIENDS, WHAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH, WE ARE STILL FRIENDS.

>> THAT’S RIGHT, AND THEY HAVE PUT UP WITH STUFF FROM YOU, AND YOU HAVE PUT UP WITH STUFF FROM THEM.

>> I AM ONE OF THE WORLDS MOST NEEDY WOMEN, SO I CAN DEFINITELY MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU, COME BACK NEXT YEAR.

BUT YES, THEY ACCEPT ME.

>> I JUST THINK THERE ARE SO MANY OF US WHO ARE HOBBLED BY A BITTERNESS THAT COMES AFTER THIS KIND OF BETRAYAL.

AND I DO THINK THAT THE FIRST STEP IS SAYING, IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME.

I’M NOT GOING TO BE A BITTER BITCH AFTER THIS, I’M GOING TO LIVE A LIFE THAT CONTINUES TO BE HOPEFUL, A LIFE OF STRUGGLE, A LIFE OF JOY, AND I THINK IN THAT, THAT’S THE BEGINNING OF RECOVERY.

JUST THAT DECLARATION.

>> YES, AND PEOPLE CALL ON WHATEVER GOD THEY ARE INTO.

NATURE IS WHAT HAS CAP ME FROM BEING BITTER.

IT ALSO KEEPS ME HOPEFUL, OPTIMISTIC.

I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT TALKING ABOUT THIS KIND OF BETRAYAL IS VERY HARD, BUT I’M SO HAPPY TO BE DOING IT WITH YOU, SARAH, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS THE WORLD -- THE WORK OF ADULT WOMEN.

IN CHEROKEE TRADITION, YOU BECOME AN ADULT WHEN YOU ARE 52.

WE ARE ALMOST THERE.

I FEEL SO STRONGLY THAT WE HAVE TO SPEAK TO THE YOUTH ABOUT ISSUES LIKE THIS.

I THINK THAT OFTEN THEY FEEL THAT YOU DO BECOME BITTER, YOU DO BECOME SORT OF TRASHED AND TROUNCED AND TOSSED AWAY AND THAT’S THE END OF IT.

BUT IN FACT, LIFE JUST GETS MORE AND MORE RICH.

>> IT ABSOLUTELY DOES.

I THINK THIS MIDLIFE TIME IS SO COMPLEX AND SO LAYERED, SO TEXTURED AND SO RICH, AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I FEEL IS SO RESIDENT IN THIS BOOK IS, SPEAKING YOUR SOUL.

NOT EVEN YOUR MIND ANYMORE, BUT YOUR SOUL, OUT.

AND THAT IS HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR.

THERE ISN’T THIS KIND OF DEFENSIVENESS OR POSTURING OR MASKING, THIS IS WHO I AM, ALICE WALKER, WITHOUT APOLOGY.

AS A MATTER FACT, A DECLARATION.

>> AND REAL HAPPINESS, AND GRATITUDE.

>> THAT IS ABSOLUTELY FELT IN THIS BOOK.

>> HOW DOES THE HEART KEEP BEATING?

HOW DOES THE SPIRIT GO ON?

LIKE MY MOTHER, WHO SEEM TO SWITCH OVER TO ANOTHER MODE OF COPING AFTER HER BODY FAILED HER, SO THAT SHE REMAINED RADIANT, EVEN THOUGH SHE COULDN’T MOVE.

I FELT AFTER A TIME OF DIMNESS AND EXHAUSTION THAT WHAT SEEMED LIKE UTTER MEANNESS OF SPIRIT, RACISM, SEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA, HYPOCRISY, INSURE CRAZINESS, LIFTED UP BY AN INNER SPIRITUAL RESERVE THAT I HADN’T BEEN SURE I HAD.

THE ASSUMPTION THAT LIFE IS GRAND, NO MATTER WHAT.

THAT SUFFERING HAS A USE.

IT HELPS PUSH AWAY THE OLD SKIN, SURELY NOT EMPATHICALLY FLEXIBLE ENOUGH, STILL CLINGING TO OUR ANKLES, THAT I AND ALL THAT I LOVE ARE INSEPARABLE FOREVER, AND THAT I DEEPLY LOVE COURAGE, CREATIVITY, AND THE BOLDNESS TO TRY SOMETHING NEW.

ALL OF WHICH I EXPERIENCED IN THE COLLECTIVE WHO CREATED OUR FILM, THAT EVEN TO RESPECTFULLY ENCOUNTER THE OTHER IS A SACRED ACT AND LEADS TO AND THROUGH THE LABYRINTH, TO THE RIVER, POSSIBLY TO HEALING, AND THAT THIS IS A SPECIAL EFFECT OF THE SOUL.

PARIS: SO WONDERFUL, AND SO TRUE.

THAT IS IT FOR THIS SERIES, GBH ROOTED REMEMBERS.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOOKING BACK INTO THE ARCHIVES TO BRING YOU SOME THE STORIES AND PEOPLE THAT HELP KEEP US ROOTED.

AND NOW, WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT KEEPS YOU ROOTED.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CONVERSATIONS YOU HEARD THIS SUMMER, AND WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT MATTER TO YOU?

CHECK US OUT ON INSTAGRAM, AND RIGHT HERE EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT AT 7:30.

FOR ALL OF US HERE AT "GBH NEWS ROOTED."

, I AM PARIS ALSTON.

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!