Hoda's Second Act

The former Today host has a new book, a wellness app, and a fresh take on what's most important.

- by KEYDRA MANNS

You might think that after Hoda Kotb stepped down from her role at the Today show after more than a decade of waking up at 3:30 a.m. and a nearly nonstop schedule that barely left her time for pit stops at home, she'd have finally taken a beat, slowed down, gotten some rest. And she has—in a very Hoda way.

Now, instead of rushing around 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the home of the Today show, she's scurrying after daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 6, and their new puppy, Waffles. Instead of reporting breaking news and writing scripts, she has put pen to paper for her ninth book. Instead of gabbing with cohosts on live television, she's taking solo walks around her new neighborhood in the suburbs.

In August, Kotb, 61, stopped by the GH office to dish on her endeavors since having bidden farewell to her beloved hosting gig. And about her alarm clock: "Now I sleep in until about 4:30 a.m., sometimes until 5 a.m. if I go a little crazy," she says. "I used to underestimate rest. I didn't think about it; I just kept going. But now I realize that after that extra hour or hour and a half of sleep, I wake up feeling like a different person."

On the inspiration for her book Jump and Find Joy

It's based on my life and also on the lives of people I admire. I remember talking to Sarah Jakes Roberts, the daughter of pastor T.D. Jakes, and she said to me, "Jumping is scary, but what's important is to imagine yourself on the other side. Feel those feelings." For me it was, What would it feel like to call my own shots, to have my own schedule, to have something that was mine? You feel the feelings, and then the jump isn't so terrifying.

On who would benefit from reading it