Publishers Weekly
04/28/2014
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. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Delivered with candor and optimism, Everybody's Got Something is a remarkable book that offers a blueprint for handling crises with grace and faith."
—BookPage
"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 theirown challenges with the "something" that everybody inevitably faces."
—Booklist
Library Journal - Audio
08/01/2014
Following her late mother's advice to "make her mess her message," Good Morning America anchor Roberts chronicles an extremely challenging year in her life, hoping to inspire others fighting their own battles. In 2012, Roberts, already a breast cancer survivor, was diagnosed with a rare blood disease that attacks the bone marrow. After experiencing the joy of finding a perfect donor match in her sister, Roberts was thrown back into grief when her mother passed away shortly before Roberts's transplant surgery. The anchor returned to work in February 2013 and celebrated a year of recovery later that fall. Although Roberts's story concerns deep pain and sadness, her attitude throughout is upbeat: she narrates her book in the same warm and chipper tone she uses on air every morning. VERDICT This title has a broad appeal and is certain to be popular. Recommended for all collections.—Julie Judkins, Univ. of North Texas, Denton
APRIL 2014 - AudioFile
This follow-up to TV news anchor Roberts’s previous audiobooks offers personal growth principles abstracted from her experiences. She has a deep, athletic-sounding voice that sounds consistently clear but not as spontaneous as she appears in her television work. The assertiveness in her voice works well to express the determination she had to summon when facing a life-threatening disease that required a bone marrow transplant in 2012. Her fans will enjoy the chatty narratives about her celebrity life and medical travails that dominate this memoir. What everyone facing a health challenge will savor is how Roberts uses her grounding in Southern culture to remind us of the importance of gratitude, hope, and strong connections with family members. T.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2014-03-18
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.
