On top of her work in entertainment, she’s also held the role of caregiver. In 2018, Latifah lost her beloved mother, Rita Owens, to interstitial lung disease (ILD).

Now, Latifah is set to appear in Beyond Breathless, a new documentary that explores the experiences and challenges of the people, caregivers, and medical professionals facing this lung disease.

We’re the caregivers, and we go through a lot, but the patient is going through a lot more. Any time I would get down on myself—sometimes I would just want to fall apart—I would think, my mom is the one fighting this. But she would just crack these jokes out of nowhere. She would be in the hospital and would strike up a conversation with the kid who is coming in to mop the floors. And before you know it, this kid goes from head down, hands sagging, to his head up in the air, chest higher, and his pants pulled up. She has a conversation with this young man who now believes he can accomplish his goals in life. She could do some amazing things.

We appreciated being able to be helpful to her, but we knew we had to be able to take care of ourselves too. Because we’re in it: We’re in it with the people we love, and we want to have a positive outlook. We’re in for this fight, for them.

Read more in Self.

Photo: LOS ANGELES – JAN 19: QUEEN LATIFAH arriving to “Joyful Noise” Los Angeles Premeire on January 19, 2012 in Hollywood, CA. Shutterstock / DFree