Reddy had been quoted as saying, "To this day I get mail from women who say, I went to law school because of your song. But I would hate to think out of the wide spectrum of things I have done in my career, that's all I would be remembered for." But in her autobiography, "The Woman I Am: A Memoir", she recalls a 2000 encounter with a friend's high-school-aged nephew who said that "in his assigned "Modern American History" textbook, in a section on the rise of feminism in the 70s, I was mentioned along with the printed lyrics to 'I Am Woman'." It became her excuse for what, in 2002, she called her retirement: "I thought, 'Well, I'm part of history now. And how do I top that? I can't top that.' So, it was an easy to stop singing." But in a 2014 interview celebrating her return to the stage, Ernie Manouse asked about the song, "Ever regret it because it's so iconic? Does it overshadow everything else? Because people forget how many hit songs you had, and yet this song becomes so big. Is it ever too much to have on your back?" Reddy begins, "No, no," and after a pause says, "I'm proud of it."