Marlo Thomas

Excerpt

It was spring of 2002, and I was in the middle of a radio interview, talking about my new book, The Right Words at the Right Time, in which I had asked 108 famous people -- people I admired -- to write about the words that changed their lives. Halfway through the interview, a listener called the station and told a story that would stay with me.

Marlo Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a teaching degree. She is the author of four bestselling books, Free to Be . . . You and Me, Free to Be . . . a Family, The Right Words at the Right Time, and Thanks and Giving: All Year Long. Ms. Thomas has won four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, a Grammy, the Peabody Award, and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame for her work in television, including her starring role in the landmark series That Girl, which she also conceived and produced. She is the National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which was founded by her father, Danny Thomas, in 1962. Ms. Thomas lives in New York with her husband, Phil Donahue.