Everybody's Got Something

April 28, 2014
In this soulful memoir, the host of Good Morning America recounts her recent struggle with illness and path to recovery. The book begins in 2012, when Roberts was first diagnosed with MDS (a disease sometimes referred to as pre-leukemia), and traces step-by-step her experiences through the treatment that included a bone marrow transplant from her sister, Sally-Ann, all the way to her triumphant return to morning television. Fortunately, Roberts recovers from the risky and often excruciating process with support from family and many friends, including colleagues Diane Sawyer and Dr. Richard Besser. The author's beloved mother, who passed away right before Roberts was admitted to the hospital, is the driving force in this story of resilience; even the title is inspired by something her mother used to say. Roberts contemplates the experience with a mix of gravity, courage and humor, saying, "I traveled so far on a combination of faith and science." She offers readers a deeply intimate and endearing glimpse into the human side of battling illness.

April 1, 2014
With the assistance of Chambers (co-author; Yes, Chef, 2012, etc.), broadcaster Roberts (From the Heart: Eight Rules to Live By, 2008) chronicles her struggles with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare condition that affects blood and bone marrow. The author is a well-known newscaster, formerly on SportsCenter and now one of the anchors of Good Morning America. In 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which she successfully fought with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Five years later, after returning from her news assignment covering the 2012 Academy Awards, she learned that chemotherapy had resulted in her developing MDS, which led to an acute form of leukemia. Without a bone marrow transplant, her projected life expectancy was two years. While Roberts searched for a compatible donor and prepared for the transplant, her aging mother's health also began to gravely deteriorate. Roberts faced her misfortune with an athlete's mentality, showing strength against both her disease and the loss of her mother. This is reflected in her narration, which rarely veers toward melodrama or self-pity. Even in the chapters describing the transplantion process and its immediate aftermath, which make for the most intimate parts of the book, Roberts maintains her positivity. However, despite the author's best efforts to communicate the challenges of her experience and inspire empathy, readers are constantly reminded of her celebrity status and, as a result, are always kept at arm's length. The sections involving Roberts' family partly counter this problem, since it is in these scenes that she becomes any daughter, any sister, any lover, struggling with a life-threatening disease. "[I]f there's one thing that spending a year fighting for your life against a rare and insidious...disease will teach you," she writes, "it's that time is not to be wasted." At-times inspirational memoir about a journalist's battle with a grave disease she had to face while also dealing with her mother's passing.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2014
When Good Morning America cohost Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, she mounted a very public battle. Five years after completing treatment, she faced a rare bone-marrow disorder, likely caused by the cancer treatment, that again tested her strength and resolve, again in public. Following her mother's time-honored advice to make your mess your message, Roberts offers an inspiring memoir of her life, from her home base in Mississippi to her home in New York and the glamorous though grueling life of a television reporter. Roberts prevailed through a painful bone-marrow transplant, with her sister as donor; the death of her mother; and her triumphant return to GMA after her medical leave, proudly wearing her bald head on air. With the infectious personality for which she's known, Roberts details the support of family and friends and the people she's met in her life and career who've inspired her by overcoming their own challenges with the something that everybody inevitably faces. Photos enhance this inspiring memoir.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)