"That was the only time my mother saw me on stage, " she told friend and journalist Gamal Nkrumah in 2001.

BBC: Obituary: Miriam 'Mama Africa' Makeba

Now, one of my earliest impressions of Brazil was a movie I saw with my mother as a very young child, a movie called Black Orpheus, that is set in the favelas of Rio during Carnival.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks to the People of Brazil

"I saw my mother go from riding in a chauffeur-driven car to taking the bus, " Perez says.

FORBES: Latino Connection

"As soon as Paul saw my mother in 1969, he thanked her for saving his life, " said Louis, from Wilrijk, near Antwerp.

BBC: Gathering century-old memories of wartime Belgium

There he was, my handsome brother, walking toward us, seemingly unchanged, until he came close enough for my mother to hug him, and I saw him wince and back away his arm was covered in soft-looking welts.

NEWYORKER: Cell One

We saw each other, but my mother was filled with the fear of slipping into domestic life and sabotaging her own career.

WSJ: Molly Jong-Fast on Growing Up With Erica Jong

It was about a year ago, when I saw SpaceShipOne and the mother ship, Eve, named after my mother, coming out in the Mohave.

FORBES