It sounds like you two are talking fairly regularly.

Right now, I'm letting him vent a lot of his frustrations, a lot of anger, his hurt, his fear, everything he's going through right now with his court case. And he's got so much going on in his life.

Have you and Marshall talked about your CD?

His little brother tried to play it for him over the phone the other day. And from what he heard, he misinterpreted. He couldn't understand the words. In the beginning, it says, "Hey, kids, do you like violence? I'm gonna take and break Eminem's mother's silence." Marshall thought it said, "I'm gonna take and stab you in the eyelids." And Nathan and I, we couldn't help but laugh, because we're trying to tell him, "That's not what it says."

Marshall's not this tough guy, like he puts out there. It's all for show. I think once he did get with Dr. Dre and them ... He has been around a lot of different people and he carries guns, talked a lot of violence and did a lot of drugs and drinking. They say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." I think Marshall wanted to act like he had been there and done that and the whole thing.

But the music itself --

Oh, I know. I've had a lot of people tell me to tell him to tone it down. And I think he will; I really do. I think that, as quiet as it has been kept, I see behind closed doors our relationship repairing but him wanting to carry on this tough-guy image. He'd have a fit if he thought, "Gee, well, you know, you're letting people know we're talking."

Do you still see your granddaughter?

No, I don't, hon. That's been one of the hardest things for me. Because any time that Marshall's wanted to see Nathan, I've always obliged. But it's not Marshall; it's Kim [Eminem's wife]. Marshall's gotta walk a fine line with her. Kim has said, "No, absolutely not." She's got Hailie believing that I'm the evil grandmother. She told me that. "That's the evil grandmother. That's the bad one." And that has broken my heart.

Does Nathan visit Marshall for extended periods of time?

Well, he went on tour with him for probably three or four weeks in the summer. I was kind of hesitant to send him because of all the guys he'd be around. But Marshall watched him pretty good. Marshall does preach to him about staying in school: "Don't do drugs; don't drink. If I ever catch you doing it, or smoking pot, I'm gonna go out and let you finish a joint and then I'm gonna bust ya upside your head." He's very protective of his brother.

Have you considered dropping your lawsuit?

Marshall and I kind of talked about a lot of different things. And he's admitted he's wronged me and stuff, but he's like, "Mom, if I go out there and say this to the public, do you realize what could happen to me?"

Meaning what?

That he could get hurt, seriously injured. And I don't want to see that happen.

If he says what?

That, yeah, I demeaned my mom and I'm sorry, and I said a lot of stuff that wasn't true. He's like, "You know what they're gonna do to me? You know how I'm gonna look?"

Like a nice son?

But he doesn't want to do that, see, because he's put on this whole thing. He said, "Mom, you should have just gone along with everything in the beginning and we would have never had these problems."

It sounds like you have your work cut out for you.

I do, but I am a good Christian, and prayer has kept me goin'. I do believe that my family will fall back into place someday. And I just hope it doesn't take my son going to jail to have to say, "Mom, you know, I need you."

What about all that stuff about you doing drugs and his rough childhood? Is any of that true?

No. And that's what hurt me so much. He said to me, "Mom, black people do not believe that there are poor white people out there, that we have to struggle too and work. They think that we're born with a silver spoon in our mouth. And I have to say something. I can't just say, 'Well, I was overprotected by my mom. And my mom tried to give me everything.' Because they already think that. They already think that white people have everything."

Do you think he sacrificed you for his own success?

Yes, I do. But I don't think he really meant to make it as bad as it turned out to be. It just kept getting worse. Then he would hear that I was supposed to have said something to the media. Like I said, the media's been pretty cruel. And there's been somebody that's been talking to 'em -- I don't know who it is -- that has claimed to be me and has said all these different things about Marshall. And it's broken my heart.

Is there a particular message you'd like people to take away from your CD?

That I do love my son and I'm not a bad person and it's really difficult. The song, the letter "Dear Marshall," was written for him to basically let him know, "Yes, I do love you." I know he's going through a very stressful time in his life. He has been for two years and I know everything kinda hit him at once with his fame and all that ... The message from me is that I love him and I'm not this evil beast that has been portrayed by the media. Like he said, "Mom, it's been the media doing the most harm." I know that. The CD basically is to set the record straight.

The letter I read on it is very emotional. I've had people call here that said, "We never have been touched by anything in our life as we have this. And you can tell the emotion in your voice ... It lets everybody know how much you do love him, and that you guys have had a problem over the past couple of years and that he needs to make it right with you and that you'll always be his mother no matter what."

And at the end I say, "Will the real Marshall Mathers please stand up and take responsibility for his own life?" And then I sign it "Sincerely, with love, your only mother."

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