Her family guarded the details of her illness, honoring a woman who had given almost everything else to the public. What remains is not the hospital room, but the mountain girl who turned hand-me-down hurt into songs the world could sing. Her legacy lives in battered paperbacks from the Imagination Library, in late-night shifts scored by “9 to 5,” and in every stranger who feels a little less alone when her voice comes through the radio.
Dolly Parton’s Final Chapter Leaves Fans Reflecting on Her Remarkable Life
