ROC4LIFE

Alicia Keys has lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: a beautiful son, a new album, and a reunion with her estranged dad.

Keys’ father, Craig Cook, left her when she was two to be raised by her single mom Teresa. But after years of silence, Keys and her father are now in the process of fixing their broken relationships.

In an interview with the UK magazine, You, Keys explains how they reconnected. “The process started when my grandmother became ill,” she said. “You realize what’s important when you see a person you love dearly and you’re not going to have them for long. It was important to her. And I saw [my father's] love for her. I realized he wasn’t an evil person so I said, ‘Can we start from this point on? Can we be friends? I can start to understand you and you can start to understand me.’”

And it looks like they’re making progress. So much that Cook now gets to spend time with Keys’ 2-year-old son, Egypt. “My father and I are fine now,” Keys tells You.

As for how she was able to make that huge step toward restoring her relationship with Cook, she says it starts with letting go. “I would say in the process of growing up, you realize you’ve been holding on to anger. I was angry then and am sure I had the right to be angry, but if you hold on to all this anger the only person you’re hurting is you.”

In the article, Keys also touches on why she named her son Egypt, finding work-life balance and more.

— Rizoh