Hoda Kotb Returns to ‘Today’ Show to Announce Her Next Project

Two months after her departure from the Today show, Hoda Kotb returned to the morning show via video message on Monday, March 10. Her appearance came in conjunction with the announcement of her new book, Jump and Find Joy, which will be released on September 23.

“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?’” Kotb explained. “And I felt that way about the Today show, and I was terrified to even think about jumping.”

It was after a conversation with pal Maria Shriver that Kotb finally made her decision. “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,'” the journalist continued.

The book includes “different people” who Kotb loves and respects that have done something they were once “too afraid” to do. “Viola Davis, this woman went from on her knees to this incredible spot, and it was an image that caused her to jump,” Kotb shared. “Sarah Jakes, who’s also in the book, T.D. Jakes’ daughter, she’s a pastor, and she said, ‘When you jump, you have to imagine yourself on the other side.’ Here’s my thing. You get one life. That’s all. That’s it. It’s ready for the taking. It only takes a jump.”

In addition to the book, Kotb is also working on a wellness app now that she’s no longer hosting the morning talk show. Although she has not revealed the name or release date, she said in January that she was hoping for the app to launch this spring.