Summary

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 culturesone 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 Todaywith Kathie Lee Gifford. (Oh, c'mon, KLG! That's funny . . . put down the huge pour of Chardonnay and laugh with us.) HODAreads just like Hodalight, funny, positive, and positively inspiring.

Author Biography

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.

Introduction	p. ix
My Vinyl Photo File	p. xi
The Back Story	p. 1
What Is You?	p. 3
My Family	p. 19
Going Live	p. 45
The Trek	p. 47
Tv News	p. 57
The Network	p. 63
Hot Zones	p. 67
MS. Groves	p. 99
Dateline	p. 107
New Orleans	p. 113
Hurricane Katrina	p. 133
Super Bowl XLIV	p. 145
Shit Storms and Silver Linings	p. 153
The Bad Year	p. 155
Man on the Plane	p. 183
The Game Changer	p. 187
Get In The Game	p. 195
Life Without Cue Cards	p. 199
You Cant Scare Me	p. 201
The Fourth Hour	p. 205
Kathie Lee	p. 211
The Big Top	p. 235
Guest Hosts and Guests	p. 239
The Peacock Family	p. 249
Dating	p. 255
Forward	p. 261
Where are They Now?	p. 265
Acknowledgments	p. 271
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Excerpts

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.