Author Bebe Moore Campbell died of complications from brain cancer at her home in Los Angeles on Monday. She was 56.

In addition to being an author, Campbell was an NPR commentator and an advocate for the mentally ill.

"Stigma is one of the main reasons why people with mental health problems don't seek treatment or take their medication," Campbell said. "People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit."

Campbell is survived by her mother, husband, daughter and two grandchildren.

Michele Norris talks with Marita Golden, a friend of the author's and a fellow novelist, about how Campbell's journalism background and coming of age in the 1960s shaped her work.

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