Grammy-winning R&B/soul performer Roberta Flack announced via a representative today that she has been diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and can no longer sing. As the Guardian reports, Flack’s manager Suzanne Koga said via a release that the disease “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” adding: “But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon.”

The announcement comes ahead of the Roberta premiere in New York; the feature-length documentary about Flack will premiere on Thursday at Doc NYC film festival and debut on TV next year. Flack still “plans to stay active in her music and creative pursuits” — in particular a forthcoming children’s book, The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music, co-written with Tonya Bolden.

“I have long dreamed of telling my story to children about that first green piano that my father got for me from the junkyard in the hope that they would be inspired to reach for their dreams,” Flack, 85, says in the release. “I want them to know that dreams can come true with persistence, encouragement from family and friends, and most of all belief in yourself.”