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Lunden
Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden is a multiple New York Times bestselling author. Her most recent book, Joan: Life Beyond the Script, offers her most personal and revealing work to date. In it, Joan shares the untold stories behind her groundbreaking career, the realities of being one of the first women to break through the glass ceiling in television news, the challenges of balancing ambition with motherhood, and the lessons she’s learned through reinvention, advocacy, and perseverance. The book has been praised for its honesty, humor, and heartfelt reflection, giving audiences an even deeper appreciation for the woman behind the public persona.
Lunden has served as a national spokesperson for numerous organizations, including the American Heart Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the American Lung Association, the American Red Cross, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Colon Cancer Alliance. She continues to connect with audiences daily through her social media platforms and her website, JoanLunden.com.
Joan Lunden remains one of America’s most recognized and trusted public figures, inspiring generations with her warmth, resilience, and authenticity.
Lunden’s books include: Joan: Life Beyond the Script / Why Did I Come into This Room: A Candid Conversation About Aging / Had I Known: A Memoir of Survival / Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregiving / Growing Up Healthy: Protecting Your Child from Diseases Now Through Adulthood / Wake-Up Calls; Making the Most Out of Every Day / A Bend in the Road is Not the End of the Road; 10 Positive Principles for Dealing with Change / Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living; A practical, inspirational guide to creating balance in your life / Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking / and Good Morning, I’m Joan Lunden.
Books
ABOUT THE BOOK
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 co-host 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 50s, 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 60s, 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.