Book Review: Going There by Katie Couric
Katie Couric needs no introduction. I’ve been a fan of hers since she joined NBC’s Today show, watching her every morning in my first apartment as I got myself into my Dress Barn suits before catching the train into Center City Philadelphia for my first professional post-college job. When all the criticism came out about Going There (Little, Brown, 2021), I still wanted to read it for myself.
I went into this fully expecting the scorched earth, take no prisoners, burning bridges book that the media gleefully and relentlessly trashed. Apparently, those critics and I did not read the same book. I can understand why Katie Couric was reportedly surprised at all the negativity surrounding her memoir because this is nowhere near the scathing tome that some people would like you to believe. Instead, it is a candid and straightforward narrative covering her family, the beginning of her news career, the highs at Today, and the lows of CBS and 60 Minutes.
Regarding the latter two organizations, Katie is quite open and honest — she has no issue calling out those who repeatedly put obstacle after obstacle in her path and made promises they had no intention of honoring — while also being reflective about her own mistakes. Anyone who has ever had such a job or left a job you loved to take a risk that didn’t work out will surely relate. And I liked that now, after so many years of being told what stories she could or couldn’t do, Katie herself is calling the shots at the helm of the media company that bears her name.
The critics also lambast her for how she treated her late husband Jay in the book. She speaks of him with such love that it is difficult to find what, exactly, is the issue here. Again, she’s candid and upfront about his passion for Civil War re-enactments. and how she and her daughters have tried to understand this and still struggle with it. Similarly, she acknowledges the racist ancestors in her own family and admits being horrified at this knowledge.
Of course, the most salacious part that people will gravitate to is Katie’s thoughts on Matt Lauer and the #MeToo movement. I thought she explained her thoughts very well. She was conflicted, upset, and disgusted — as most of us would be — to find out that her friend of more than two decades had raped and sexually assaulted dozens of women, many of them young interns. It is possible, Katie writes, not to fully know someone you literally sit next to for 15 years. While she always heard rumors about Matt’s behavior, she didn’t have any firsthand knowledge about specific incidents and expresses sadness that one former intern felt she couldn’t confide in Katie about what was happening. After being close for so many years and having a “brother-sister” relationship, Katie writes that she and Matt no longer speak and her heartbreak over that is palpable.
There are times when the writing becomes a little too cutesy and in other instances, Katie seems to address the reader directly. All in all, this is a solid memoir from an accomplished woman who has experienced loss and setbacks but who has used those tragedies to fund cancer research and treatments while emerging stronger. Listened to this mostly on audio (Katie narrates). 4 out of 5 stars.
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