Wise Words From Robin Roberts' Mom: 'Honey, Everybody's Got Something'

When Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts was a little girl, whenever she'd complain to her mother about how unfair life was, her mother would say, "Oh, everybody's got something."

Years later, in 2007, Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer. "I had that moment of: Wow, I can't believe I'm going through this. Why is this happening to me?" she tells NPR's Rachel Martin. "And my mother ... sweetly and gently — said to me, 'Honey, everybody's got something.' And it just really stuck with me."

Everybody's Got Something is the title of a new memoir Roberts has coauthored with Veronica Chambers. In it, she describes her "somethings" — her breast cancer and a rare blood disorder, which required a bone marrow transplant.

Roberts shared her treatment and recovery with her Good Morning America audience. "As my mother would say: 'Make your mess your message," Roberts says.

She talks with Martin about her medical journey and about her personal life — including how she decided to introduce her longtime partner Amber to her audience. Click the audio link above to hear their conversation.

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