Charleston, South Carolina – This weekend, a national television personality visited the Lowcountry to spread her message of hope and change. Hoda Kotb, a former Today show co-host, has began her Jump and Find Joy book tour in the Lowcountry.
“Everything in this book is so honest and raw; it is about life. It’s about you being on the edge of a cliff. Should I jump? Hoda Kotb asked, “Or is it better to say here?”
For millions of Americans, Hoda Kotb was a morning buddy on NBC’s Today Show. On Saturday, September 20th, the icon made her first book tour stop in the Holy City, introducing her new book, “Jump and Find Joy” with a sold-out event at the Charleston Riviera.
Hoda remarked that starting the tour in the Holy City felt like a warm embrace. “There was something about starting that felt like a warm embrace. Charleston, South Carolina, is unquestionably that place. Years ago, Kathie Lee and I visited here and performed our program. We still talk about it as one of our favorite spots on the planet, so it just made right,” Kotb explained.
After 17 years on the NBC Today show, Hoda hosted her final episode in January of this year, confronting the unknown of what comes next.
“I believe that the great leap was that working at that stage play became my identity because I had been doing it for so long. So I was wondering, “What am I without that?” I know I’m a mother. This is my very first job. But, what more is there? said Kotb.
Her response, a book inspired by embracing life’s changes and uncertainties, implies that it’s all about approaching life with a good attitude and not being frightened to embrace change.
“This book is really ambitious to me since it is about life’s major turning points, which is all life is. Either you stay on one train to the end, or you hop on and off, as I believe most people do,” Kotb remarked.
Hoda stated that some of her favorite chapters in the book feature other people’s tales of diving into change, such as Viola Davis and Thomas Rhett.
“People jumped. It’s Viola Davis and Thomas Rhett. I adore those stories because they spoke to me when I interviewed them, and the opportunity to relay them moved me. “So I enjoy those chapters about other people’s lives,” Kotb remarked.
The sold-out concert at the Charleston Riviera marked the first stop on Hoda’s book tour, which was moderated by News 2’s own Octavia Mitchell, who noted that the book’s message is obvious.
“I think the takeaway, at least for me, is that it’s never too late to change, to shift gears, to try something new, to jump into something you’ve been thinking about but haven’t done with someone to make a difference and change. “You have the ability to change your life,” Mitchell stated.
Shannon Brown, who flew back to her hometown to visit Hoda, was particularly inspired by the event.
“The most significant thing that she said to me is that anything if you’re interested in something and you’ve got something going on, which I do for my future, I’m going to go ahead and go forward into it,” Brown said.”
While readers left the book tour feeling motivated to take their own risks, Hoda said the heart of her book is a lesson she hopes every reader takes away with them.
“For Charleston readers, I would summarize the core of this book in one sentence: Joy is yours for the taking. “You simply have to choose,” Kotb remarked.
Charleston is only the first stop in Hoda Kotb’s Jump and Find Joy book tour. Fans departed the Riviera with a message that embracing change leads to joy.
The complete tour schedule is below:
Saturday, September 20 – Charleston, SC / Riviera Theater
Sunday, September 21 – Chicago, IL / The Athenaeum
Wednesday, September 24 – Greenwich, CT/Christ Church
Thursday, September 25 – Winston-Salem, NC/Bookmarks Festival
Friday, September 26 – New Orleans, LA / Joy Theater
Tuesday, September 30 – Eastchester, NY / Barnes & Noble Book Signing
