Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee

INTRODUCTION\ Recently, I was walking through one of New York City’s terrific neighborhood street fairs teeming with colorful booths. Banners promised “Millions of Socks!” and vendors proudly displayed tie-dyed scarves and chocolate-covered marshmallows on skewers. The crowd had a Sunday pace and I happily relaxed into the mix of sun-soakers and serious shoppers. As I wandered, some who watch a bit of television offered their kind hellos as they passed by. A friendly guy selling piano lessons wanted to chat. He asked one of the two questions I most often hear.\ \ One is, “Where are you from?”\ He asked the other: “How did you get to where you are today?”\ \ It’s always that second question that makes me want to pull out a vinyl pocket photo file. It would flip-flop-flip all the way down to the ground, filled with pictures of the extraordinary people who guided me, who took a chance on me, who supported me. They are the answer. They are how I got to where I am today.\ Think of all the people who’d fill your pocket photo file. Or even the pages of your book. I never really considered writing a book, and wondered—when someone suggested the idea—whether I could. I can’t remember a damn thing! Big problem. A good friend of mine, aware of my recall issues, mailed me a package of dried blueberries when she heard about my book project. The enclosed card (I’m told) read, “Good for your memory. Start eating these by the bushel!” Well, the package never arrived. Classic. The berries got lost, just like my memories.\ Turns out, though, several hundred pages later, I did have a book in me. I do remember things once I dig around in the fuzzy matter a bit. (I wisely issued shovels to my siblings, too.) So, what’s my book about? It’s about where I’m from. My family. The hunt for my first television job. And the double whammy that took my breast and broke my heart at the same time. It’s about stories I’ve covered around the globe. Hurricanes Katrina and Kathie Lee. What I’ve learned so far in my life. It’s about how the dirt that gets kicked in our faces sometimes transforms into magic dust. Most important, though, these pages are a way to give credit and thanks to the people who boldly stepped up when no one else would, and who quietly sat down next to me without being asked. My book is about all that and a random guy on a plane who told me, “Don’t hog your journey.”\ Okay, I won’t. Here’s my journey. I’m so glad you’re here. Pass the blueberries.\ © 2010 Hoda Kotb

Introduction ix\ My Vinyl Photo File xi\ Part 1 The Back Story 1\ 1 What Is You? 3\ 2 My Family 19\ Part 2 Going Live 45\ 3 The Trek 47\ 4 Tv News 57\ 5 The Network 63\ 6 Hot Zones 67\ 7 MS. Groves 99\ 8 Dateline 107\ 9 New Orleans 113\ 10 Hurricane Katrina 133\ 11 Super Bowl XLIV 145\ Part 3 Shit Storms and Silver Linings 153\ 12 The Bad Year 155\ 13 Man on the Plane 183\ 14 The Game Changer 187\ 15 Get In The Game 195\ Part 4 Life Without Cue Cards 199\ 16 You Cant Scare Me 201\ 17 The Fourth Hour 205\ 18 Kathie Lee 211\ 19 The Big Top 235\ 20 Guest Hosts and Guests 239\ 21 The Peacock Family 249\ 22 Dating 255\ 23 Forward 261\ Where are They Now? 265\ Acknowledgments 271

\ From Barnes & NobleYou might not be able to spell or pronounce Hoda Kotb's last name, but you almost certainly recognize her face. This talented, versatile television has been a Dateline NBC correspondent since 1998; a host of Your Total Health since 2004, and the co-anchor of Today's fourth hour since 2007. Since then, she has waded through hurricane ruins, cowered in war zones, survived war zones, and coped daily with the spontaneity of co-hosts and correspondents. As affable as its cover girl author.\ \ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsThe autobiography of 46-year-old TV reporter and anchor Kotb. She's the one with the odd name perched next to Kathie Lee Gifford.\ The author hails from the Oklahoma heartland, where her Egyptian parents arrived not long after their wedding. After traveling the world with her family, the author did the same in her nascent career as a journalist, though she first reported the news in local TV markets. She enjoyed her New Orleans gig and is inspired still by the spirit of the Big Easy. Then came Dateline NBC in 1998, where she relished assignments overseas—though she admits she was apprehensive amid gunfire, while seasoned colleague Jim Maceda was simply irritated by the racket. Since 2007, she has been the regular convivial sidekick on the fourth hour of The Today Show. Kotb's narrative of recent years gains strength as she looks at her diagnosis of breast cancer, her husband's infidelity and the divorce proceedings. Throughout the book, the author is relentlessly upbeat, and she relates her story with simple declarative sentences that occasionally enter cringe-worthy territory. Hair is a major problem, Mom's baklava is the best and "Stone Phillips is—so—incredibly—hot. He just is." Kotb is fond of Beyoncé, as well as "Matt, Al, Meredith, Ann, Natalie, the producers, and the crew." Ready to date again, she notes that she loves her family and music, but dislikes neatness and haute couture.\ Unremarkable showbiz fare—frothy, easy optimism from a TV performer.\ \ \ \ From the Publisher“Hoda Kotb is a wonderful storyteller. Hilarious, honest and inspiring, you will marvel as she describes her family's roots in Egypt, and their American sojourn which leads her to the career of her dreams. This book is a manual for overcoming obstacles and living life with passion and purpose. I loved it. Hoda is the working girl’s Cleopatra. She rules!”\ —Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of Brava, Valentine and Lucia, Lucia\ “This is the Hoda I know. She’s written this book the way she lives: out loud and up-front. She has written about the stuff of all of our lives. . . love, loss. . . and what she wore!”\ —Brian Williams, anchor of NBC Nightly News\ “Kinda kooky, Open and outrageous, Tremendously talented, Born to write. . .Kotb’s voice is as distinctive as her name. Hoda’s life story makes for a great read. Hurry out and get your ‘kotb’ today!”\ —Meredith Viera, cohost of NBC’s The Today Show\ “It ain’t all about the reporting y’all. Ain’t nothin’ that can stop Hoda. This gal has more guts than a super hero. She does it all and she does it with class. Now she has a delicious book on her hands. Next, we’ll use those super powers to teach her how to cook!”\ —Paula Deen, New York Times bestselling author of Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook\ "A smart, striking, and sassy memoir. Despite her extraordinary life and success, Hoda Kotb is as real as they come, and if I can’t be her, I at least want to read about her. You won’t know whether to laugh or cry (I did plenty of both), but Hoda’s stories—like the woman behind them—are guaranteed to charm and inspire."\ —Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed and Heart of the Matter\ “Hoda writes the way she lives: honestly, intelligently and beautifully. No matter how her hair looks. And the reader can tell no matter what she’s sharing at the moment that she is smiling that big Hoda smile. You will too.”\ —Kathie Lee Gifford, New York Times bestselling author of Just When I Thought I'd Dropped My Last Egg: Life and Other Calamities\ “I love Hoda. She’s reported on the most dangerous, history-making stories of our time; made it to the Today show; survived cancer; survived a bad marriage, and she’s the only woman with more opinions than me. Who cares? You will after reading the first sentence of this page-turning memoir.”\ —Joan Rivers\ "Kotb’s voice is as infectiously enthusiastic as her trademark smile, each episode imbued with stalwart courage and sincere charm. From her fondness for the music of James Taylor to her fierce loyalty to New Orleans, Kotb’s memoir of life on the road, on the air, and in the trenches is not only an absorbing inside look at the highspeed world of high-stakes journalism, it is also one charismatic woman’s story of how a can-do attitude and caring family have provided the foundation and support for an exhilarating life."\ —Booklist\ \ \