Hoda Kotb recently announced that her daughter, Hope Catherine, who had been admitted to the hospital in March, is doing better. Last week on the Today show, Kotb, 58, shared that the motivation behind her upcoming book, Hope is a Rainbow, is her 4-year-old daughter’s hospital experience.
“I wrote this a while ago, before Hopewas, you know, got sick and is on the mend and all that stuff,” the broadcast journalist told fans during the August 2nd episode of the talk show. She added: “It was based on my daughter, who of course I had dreamt of her and hoped for her and her name just fell in.”
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Hoda Kotb Shares How Her Young Daughter’s Hospitalization Inspired Her Upcoming Book
Along with Hope, Kotb also shares 6-year-old daughter Haley Joy with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. Kotb and Schiffman called off their engagement earlier last year, but still co-parent their two children.
Regarding Hope’s health and Kotb’s upcoming book (out March 5, 2024) the television personality told Today viewers: “It just reminds me — and [Hope] just reminds me — that hope is all around every corner. No matter what you go through, no matter what hardship you endure, there she is.”
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Kotb went on, sweetly saying that her daughter “is a rainbow, and so is hope,” noting that her child is kind-hearted, and “will always give away her last blueberry” and “sees magic in everything.”
The author continued: “A rainbow to me represents something that you can’t quite touch, but it’s magical and amazing.”
“So when I thought about how I carry Hope in my heart, I realized, ‘She IS a rainbow.’ She’s this beautiful, magical, incredible child. It just got me thinking about all the things where kids find magic and hope, and this book is full of that.” (Aww!)
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In 2017, Kotb made a delightful announcement to Today fans – she had adopted her first child, Haley. Ten years earlier, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer which left her unable to conceive, as she explained. The co-anchor was thrilled when her family grew again in 2019 when she welcomed Hope.
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Back in March, Kotb told viewers that Hope had experienced medical difficulties and needed to be hospitalized in the ICU. “My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for and then in the hospital for a little over a week,” Kotb said to co-host Savannah Guthrie. “I’m so grateful she’s home, she is back home. I was waiting for that day to come, and we are watching her closely.”
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Kotb thanked the doctors and nurses at Weill Cornell who cared for Hope, and shared, at the time: “Little Hope had to go to the hospital, and she was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for another week and it was really scary.” Now, thankfully, her little one is much better!
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As of late, fans on Instagram are praising Kotb for sharing her “sweet maternal love” and “loving energy” with the world.
In a new post for her 2.3 million followers, Kotb gave a glimpse of her upcoming book’s cover. ”
You are an inspiration to children and to all of us who watch you every morning,” one wrote as another added: “Congratulations on your new book. I can’t wait to read it.” (Us, too!)
