Less than a month after she last appeared on Today, Hoda Kotb is coming back to the NBC morning show for a special reason.
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“You’ll want to come back tomorrow. Something to look forward to. Hoda is back. No, no, not for good. You’re still stuck with me,” Craig Melvin announced on the Monday, September 22, episode of Today. “But Hoda, she will be here to talk about a really special project, her new book, Jump and Find Joy. It’s all about embracing change in every season of life. She’s gonna be here to talk about it tomorrow.”
Savannah Guthrie added, “It will be good to catch up with Hoda.”
Kotb previously announced her new book, Jump and Find Joy: Embracing Change in Every Season of Life, in a video message on the March 10 episode of Today. “Everybody in their life, at one point, stands on the edge of something and says, ‘Should I jump? Should I try? Should I go for it?’” she said in the clip. “And I felt that way about the Today show, and I was terrified to even think about jumping.”
Recalling a talk she had with her friend Maria Shriver, Kotb continued, “She was like, ‘You’ve jumped your whole life. You were in small markets in television and you jumped from city to city. You jumped into relationships and out of them. You jumped into motherhood. You have a history of jumping, so don’t tell me that you can’t jump,’” Kotb shared.
Kotb’s book will include interviews from “different people who I’ve loved and respected and admired who have been afraid to do something and have done it,” including Viola Davis, Sarah Jakes.
“Here’s my thing. You get one life. That’s all. That’s it. It’s ready for the taking. But it takes a jump.”
Kotb returned to Today‘s Studio 1A for the first time since her January show exit on May 28 to celebrate the launch of her wellness brand, Joy 101. The TV personality returned again as a special correspondent on September 9 to highlight an inspiring New York City gym teacher.
During the episode earlier this month, Kotb gave an update on life post-Today while catching up with her former cohosts. “Everything’s great. My kids are in 3rd grade and 1st grade. I now wake up at 5:30 [a.m.],” she shared. “I feel really good. My little business is doing its thing. I’ve got a new book. It’s just a different life, but it’s funny how easily you can find yourself starting something new.”
Out on the 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Kotb also reunited with Sheinelle Jones on air for the first time since her husband Uche Ojeh’s death. “She’s changing lives just by being exactly who she is,” Kotb praised. Referring to Jones and Guthrie’s sit-down interview about Ojeh’s death, Kotb added, “Three of my friends called immediately after you guys were talking and said that they felt forever changed after listening to that conversation. So, I was saying, ‘You don’t have to make any effort. You just be, and you’re doing what you’re doing.’ So, anyway, I love you.”
Jones will step into Kotb’s former shoes by cohosting the fourth hour of Today, Today With Jenna & Friends, with Jenna Bush Hager all week.
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