The crux of her lawsuit is that after living with Thea Spyer for more than four decades, and having a marriage recognized as legal in the state of New York, Windsor had to pay $363,000 in estate taxes when Spyer died because the federal government did not recognize their marriage as valid. "If Thea was Theo," she says, "I would not have had to pay" those taxes. "It's heartbreaking," she adds. "It's just a terrible injustice, and I don't expect that from my country. I think it's a mistake that has to get corrected."

How's this for never giving up? Eighty-three year old Edith Windsor is taking her fight for equality all the way to the Supreme Court: The Supreme Court will hear the case next week. Since taxes are involved, perhaps even the right-leaning members of the court will do the right thing and give Edith some small sense of justice after 40 years of discrimination.

You can listen to the full interview with Edith Windsor here. She's a courageous woman with an inspiring story and it is well worth a listen.