There’s no denying Dolly Parton’s popularity. She was not just a country music icon loved by millions, but she also dedicated much of her life to causes that support others. However, few know the story of her own struggles with endometriosis.

In the early ’80s, Dolly began experiencing severe abdominal pain, hemorrhaging, and severe bleeding. She took many trips to the hospital. In 1982, she was forced to cancel her tour because her pain and bleeding were so bad. This is when she received her official diagnosis of endometriosis.

In 1984, she had a partial hysterectomy, leaving her unable to have children. This led Dolly into a two-year bout with severe depression. She described this time in her life as a “REALLY BAD TIME.”

In a 1987 interview, Dolly addressed her infertility struggles.

“I can’t have children physically, I love children. I don’t know if it also wasn’t in God’s will, you know, for me to not have kids. I mean, I try to look at things in a way that I can put them in a proper place because somebody has to be out there to entertain other people’s children.”

In a 2020 episode with Oprah Winfrey, Dolly said that not being a mother did allow her to have the independence that allowed her to do just that: entertain other people’s children. She went on to explain, “Since I had no kids, and my husband was pretty independent, I had freedom. So I think a big part of my whole success is the fact that I was free to work.”

Dolly understood this freedom allowed her to give back to even more children in the world through Imagination Library, which has gifted more than 300 million age-appropriate books globally to children up to the age of five.

Just four days before her death, Dolly shared a video message with her fans. She said, “As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl. You know this isn’t the first time that I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early 80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health.”

Feminist Gloria Steinem wrote that Dolly Parton embodies a unique brand of feminism by using her business sense to uplift women and poor communities while turning conventional, devalued symbols of femininity into her own powerful tools.

I know if you have found my blog, you are struggling with endometriosis. I think we can all look at Dolly Parton as an inspiration that life’s struggles don’t have to control what you give back to society. The world can be unkind. All too often, we tear each other apart. We each have an opportunity to give back to make this world a better place. We can be more like Dolly, whether it is donating books, helping feed the hungry, or just taking a moment for someone who needs nothing more than for someone to listen to them. Dolly didn’t let endo own her. We shouldn’t either.