Heroine, agony aunt, wise woman: Aretha´s soundtrack to my life | Irenosen Okojie
(The Guardian United States)

As a young black British woman, I drew inspiration from Aretha Franklin, and will hold her dear long after the world stops mourningSeveral days ago, my mother called me with some bad news. `I think Aretha´s time is coming,` she said. Of course, I knew who she meant. There was only one Aretha. A grenade had been dropped. A soft breath came, followed by a silence, then my response. `I´d heard. My God. Not her too.`We had a conversation then about black icons - how quickly we seemed to be losing them, and how Aretha had been part of the soundtrack of our lives, her songs woven through so many crystallised moments. Continue reading...