NBC’s ‘Today Show’ Hoda Kotb To Release Third Book Nine Years After Breast Cancer
Hoda Kotb, current TV host and journalist for NBC’s late morning show, Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda, will be releasing her third inspirational book, Where They Belong: The Best Decisions People Almost Never Make, in January of 2016. This third book comes just six years after Hoda released her first book, and nine years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Hoda Kotb’s upbringing, education, and work history gives some insight into this courageous, intelligent, and lighthearted author. According to Hoda, in an interview with Cancer Connect, “I am not wasting one more minute”, and it appears she meant it.
Hoda Kotb, the 50-year-old American-Egyptian beauty, born in Oklahoma to immigrant parents, and educated at Virginia Tech in Journalism, released her first autobiographic novel in 2010; How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer and Kathie Lee. According to Amazon.com, the book charmingly relays Hoda’s Egyptian heritage, dating with overly conservative parents, divorce, cancer, and overcoming with joy and courage. In her heritage of Arabic Egyptian, the name Hoda means “guidance.”
The significance of Hoda Kotb’s first book lies in the timing of it’s release. Hoda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, the same year she learned of her husband’s infidelity, and also began co-hosting with Kathie Lee. She reveals to Diana Price, of Cancer Connect, that she had a mastectomy with flap resection, but did not have chemotherapy as the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes. She chose to take the common breast cancer treatment, Tamoxifen, for five years instead. She describes that the worst of the ordeal was healing from surgery. This is not unlike the experience expressed from the Food Network star Sandra Lee, as described in the Inquisitr article written by Jennifer Esposito.
Three years later, January of 2013, a thriving and successful Hoda released her second inspirational book, Ten Years Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives. In an interview with Gotham, Hoda discusses her thoughts and feelings behind the book; “[W]hen you are going through something horrible, you realize that there is still someone who needs you. You could sit around and talk about how bad you have it in life or you can do something.”
Fans were happy to see Hoda Kotb continue on with her work with NBC, in both the roles of journalist and co-host with Kathie Lee, but expressed much happiness when she revealed she was dating someone. To both her viewers on her Today show and to Fox News via interview on Feb 10, 2015, she revealed just who she was dating and that was Joel Schiffman. She reports dating him for a couple of years and that he taught her how to love again. Co-host Kathie Lee told viewers that, “I’ve met him…he’s the greatest guy…and he loves her.”
Hoda Kotb keeps with her tradition of writing inspirational books, and her third book is due out January 5, 2016. Will you be rushing to buy your copy?
[Image credit to Michael Loccisano of Getty Images]
