Patti LaBelle has enjoyed a nearly four-decade-long career and has won multiple Grammy Awards and earned three Emmy nominations. She is the author of the New York Timesbestsellers Don't Block the Blessingsand LaBelle Cuisine. She currently serves as spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association, the National Medical Association, the National Minority AIDS Council's "Live Long, Sugar" campaign, and the National Cancer Institute. She was recently awarded the Recording Academy's first MusiCares Award for her "deep-hearted commitment to many notable charities and causes." Laura Randolph Lancaster is a journalist, attorney, and the co-author of Don't Block the Blessingsand LaBelle Cuisine.… Formerly the managing editor of Ebony, she was the magazine's White House correspondent and creator of its acclaimed "Sisterspeak" column.