JOAN: Life Beyond the Script

Synopsis

In this fearless and inspiring memoir, trailblazing journalist Joan Lunden pulls back the curtain on the defining moments that shaped her extraordinary life—from breaking barriers on national television to reshaping motherhood, survivorship, and aging on her own terms.Since bursting onto the national morning news scene in 1980 as cohost of Good Morning America, Joan Lunden has been a catalyst for revolutionary societal changes. She didn’t just report the headlines; she made headlines for shattering the mold in a news industry dominated by older white men and rewrote the rules entirely. In a bold move that challenged workplace norms, Joan was one of the first to bring her newborn daughter to work so she could continue breastfeeding, showing the world that she could be a dedicated mom and a top-tier journalist at the same time.In her fifties, after raising three grown daughters from her previous marriage, Joan and her husband, Jeff Konigsberg, welcomed two sets of twins via surrogate, proving women can embrace motherhood at any age.Then, in her sixties, Joan discovered she had breast cancer. She bravely went public with her diagnosis, chronicling her journey and fearlessly posing bald on the cover of PEOPLE. Standing in her truth, she became an advocate for women to be better informed about the disease. She even lobbied Washington to require mammogram testing results be made available to all women, especially those with dense breast tissue. Her valiant efforts enabled early cancer detection and surely helped save countless lives. During the later-life care of her mother, Glady, Joan advocated again—this time for senior citizens. She testified before Congress to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to include senior care, imploring that caregiving isn’t just something we do at the start of life—it happens at the end, as well.At every turn, Joan has been willing to step out of her comfort zone while reinventing herself and the environment around her. JOAN: Life Beyond the Script shares the extraordinary transitions this journalist, television host, author, and advocate has undergone and how she has influenced our life transitions as well. By deeply reflecting on the most pivotal moments in her life and career, accepting the times when she faltered as much as when she was sure of herself, Lunden encourages us all to be open to change and the profound transformations it brings.