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

Hoda is a memoir of lessons Kotb has learned along her journey, from breast cancer survivor to Today show anchor.

She’s just like the rest of us: overstuffed purse, always losing keys, high-maintenance hair, snack guilt after an evening binge. But she’s something different, too.

Hoda Kotb grew up in two cultures—one where summers meant playing at the foot of the ancient pyramids and another where she had to meet her junior prom date at the local 7-Eleven to spare them both the wrath of her conservative Egyptian parents. She’s traveled the globe for network television, smuggling videotapes in her shoes and stepping along roads riddled with land mines. She’s weathered the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and a personal Category 5 as well: divorce and breast cancer in the same year. And if that’s not scary enough, she then began cohosting the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford. (Oh, c’mon, KLG! That’s funny...put down the huge pour of Chardonnay and laugh with us.)

Hoda reads just like Kotb herself—light, funny, positive, and positively inspiring.

Hoda Kotb was named co-anchor of the fourth hour of Today in 2007. She has also been a Dateline NBC correspondent since 1998 and is a New York Times bestselling author for her book, Hoda. The three-time Emmy winner also won the prestigious 2006 Peabody Award, the 2003 Gracie Award, and the 2002 Edward R. Murrow Award. Her most recent book is Where We Belong, and she resides in New York City.

ISBN: 9781439189498
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: July 19, 2011

“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