Oprah Winfrey is reflecting on her final words to her mother, Vernita Lee.
In an essay she wrote for the May issue of O, the Oprah Magazine, the television icon, 65, looked back at the internal struggle she faced over what her final goodbye would be to Vernita in her last days of life.
Vernita passed away at age 83 on Thanksgiving in 2018, but Oprah knew prior to her death her mother did not have much longer.
'To finish the unfinished business with my mother': Oprah Winfrey is reflecting on her final words to her mother, Vernita Lee
'We had a complicated relationship, my mother and I - this I know for sure. Now that she's gone, I understand it more clearly,' wrote Oprah, who had made several visits to her mother just before her death.
'When I left her on my second visit of the week, I was certain it was the last time I'd see her. Still, I could think of nothing more meaningful to say than "Goodbye, I'll see you later." Pitiful for someone who's made a career of connecting with people,' she wrote.
Oprah then traveled to Massachusetts in order to fulfill a speaking engagement, but instead of returning to her home in California once that was over, she headed back to Milwaukee to be by her mother's side.
This time, Oprah was determined to end things with Vernita the right way.
Determined: Oprah wrote about returning to be by her mother's side for a second shot at expressing herself (pictured in 1994)
'I returned to close it. To finish the unfinished business with my mother,' she wrote. 'I spent another day in the hot room just sitting and watching Family Feud on a loop. '
Still, the talk show host struggled to express her true emotions.
'I was empty of thoughts and feelings. That night I went to
