Alice Walker was captivated by Tracy Chapman's voice, and her relationship with the musician developed quickly and intensely. Like Chapman, Walker had a desire to minimize her time in the spotlight too. She also dealt with abrupt fame after the highly quotable book, "The Color Purple," won a Pulitzer Prize.

While their relationship was private, Walker asserts it was common knowledge to the people living in her neighborhood. However, in the 1990s, neither woman had a desire to promote their relationship to make a public statement. "My life is not to be somebody else's impact," Walker explained to The Guardian in 2006. Speaking of her romantic bond with Chapman, she added, "It was delicious and lovely and wonderful and I totally enjoyed it and I was completely in love with her but it was not anybody's business but ours." Even so, Walker did note that she intended to include her relationship with Chapman when she published her journals.

By 2022, Walker had followed through with this plan, when she released her memoir "Gathering Blossoms Under Fire." Sadly, by that time, Walker explained that she and Chapman were estranged. The author also noted that despite Chapman's quest to maintain privacy, Walker didn't have any qualms about disclosing their former romance. "It's my life," Walker told CBS (via CNN). "If she didn't want people to know, we should not have dated."