My favorite Oprah moments

I wouldn't consider myself to be a big Oprah fan, mostly because I know some big fans and I am not like them! But I've certainly watched my share over the years and I have a lot of respect for what Oprah has accomplished. Here are my favorite moments:

• Weight loss show

I know she's done a lot of weight loss shows, but this one really clicked for me. It was some people who worked for her and it made me really think about getting older and not checking my habits as I got closer to 40. It was a 12 week commitment and it had specific rules:

Oprah's 12 week Boot Camp

I did well on that program. I have since abandoned it, but I hope to go back. And I certainly still think about it.

• Forgiveness

I saw a man on 48 Hours Mystery whose one son who tried to kill his family and did kill his wife and his other son. He was on an Oprah show about forgiveness I saw, as was a woman who had befriended the woman who killed her daughter in a drunk driving incident. Their ability to forgive astounds me, even though I believe in it as a concept. I think Oprah has given forgiveness a lot of thought, and I admired her very much in these interviews, allowing the people to tell their stories and their stance and still allowing us and herself to not understand as well.

• Girls abused by family members

I know Oprah has experience with this, but she was so perfect in this interview; I still think about it a lot. Twin girls had been sexually abused and raped by their two brothers and their father throughout their adolescence. It was an unbelievably painful, shocking story and really, I think the girls might be better for talking to Oprah about it. She talked about forgiveness to them as well, and she defined forgiveness as, "Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past can be changed." That is a new thought for me and one I contemplate.

• Nate Burkus

I happened to catch the first show Nate Burkus was on and watched that audience fall in love with him. It was about living in small spaces and Vern Yip was on too, it was a great show and it made me start to really think about what I do with my living space.

• Book Club  

I have read some of Oprah's selections, but never when they were current, or even ever participated in a book club. But I am a librarian by training and I am in awe of what Oprah has done for reading. The numbers show that people stop reading fiction after school, and some never start and I know Oprah has changed that for millions of people.