Ellen DeGeneres on the tragic loss that changed her life

Ellen DeGeneres says she came into her 'own power' in the last decade/>She turned her grief into material for her first stand-up routine that launched her career."I just thought it would be amazing if we could just pick up the phone and call up God and ask questions and get an answer," DeGeneres recalled about her famous "Phone Call to God" joke.<p>"It just unfolded, I just wrote the entire thing and when I finished, I read it and I thought, 'Oh my God, that’s hilarious. I’m going to do this on Johnny Carson," she continued.</p>DeGeneres' prediction came true. She performed the bit on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in November 1986 and became the first female comedian invited to sit down on his couch afterward.<!abcn:image index=[1