Hoda Kotb is pulling back the curtain on her Today show tenure in her new book, Jump and Find Joy: Embracing Change in Every Season of Life. Kotb, 61, got her start in local news before joining NBC as a Dateline correspondent in 1998. After battling breast cancer, Kotb's perspective on life changed and she pitched herself to become a cohost of the fourth hour of Today - a moment she chronicles in her new memoir, out now. "'I want that job on the fourth hour of Today,' I said. 'I think I'd be good at it. I know you see me a certain way, but I can do this, and...' And then I started crying and I couldn't stop!" Kotb wrote, recalling her conversation with NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker. Kotb held her role as a fourth hour cohost - and ultimately, Savannah Guthrie's coanchor - from 2007 until she announced her departure in 2024. Earlier this year, Kotb officially said goodbye to the NBC morning show. Scroll down for more of Kotb's revelations about the Today show in her new memoir: Hoda Kotb Talks Lack of 'Spark' Between Ann Curry and Natalie Morales In 2007, Kotb recalled an exchange in which she was directed to "discuss stuff in the news" with Ann Curry and Natalie Morales. While Kotb said the trio of ladies "tried," she noted that they "weren't saying things that mattered to the people listening." "Our conversations were a big yawn. With no experience as chatty talk show hosts, our vibe felt stuff and cold- and our viewers felt the chill. Everyone could tell there wasn't a spark!" Kotb wrote. Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford Jessica Miglio / (C) NBC / courtesy Everett Collection Hoda Kotb Recalls Kathie Lee Gifford Joining 'Today' On a day when Curry and Morales were both off, Kotb shared that she and a producer went to a restaurant, where they bumped into Kathie Lee Gifford, who had previously been part of the cohosting duo on Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee. During the run-in, Kotb noted that the producer suggested Gifford cohost the show. Gifford joined the program in 2007, where Kotb wrote she "pulled a Springsteen and brought a much-needed spark to the fourth hour." "She showed up to the Today set like a lit firecracker! Boobs out, hair extensions in, exploding with energy, and sharing amazing stories about her days with her kids and former talk show cohost Regis Philbin," Kotb wrote. Later, Kotb recalled going to lunch with Gifford and feeling "things out" with their friendship. "Days later, Kathie Lee went to my bosses and told them, 'I'll do it, but I'm only going to do it with Hoda, nobody else,'" Kotb claimed. "Incredible! I still can't believe that all happened, but I'm so grateful that it did." Hoda Kotb Recalls Maria Shriver's Advice to Jenna Bush Hager After Gifford left the show in 2019, Kotb continued to cohost the fourth hour with Jenna Bush Hager - the daughter of former President George W. Bush. Elsewhere in the book, Kotb recalled a poignant moment between Maria Shriver and Bush Hager. "Maria said to Jenna, 'I just want to tell you something. And I hope you don't take offense to this. But I flew here yesterday, and the TSA guy said to me, 'Aren't you a Kennedy?' Jenna, I've worked my whole life to be Maria Shriver," Kotb wrote. "But now I'm in my sixties, and they still think, 'Aren't you a Kennedy?' So, I don't know what you're trying to prove, but make sure you're doing it because you love it and it fills you up. And not because you need to prove anything, because you don't." Nathan Congleton/NBC Hoda Kotb's Daughter Made Her Realize It Was Time to Leave 'Today' Before Kotb's exit, she noted that daughter Hope helped her "put words to [her] feelings." (Kotb adopted daughters Haley and Hope in 2017 and 2019, respectively, with then-partner Joel Schiffman.) "One day, she and I went out for a walk, and we came upon the tree she loved to climb. Her tree, as she likes to call it. She started her trip up the tree, grabbing its branches and hoisting her little body higher and higher. As she neared the top, she stopped and called down to me," Kotb wrote. Kotb continued, "'Mom, what am I going to do when I get to the top of this tree?' I smiled and said, 'I don't know. What are you going to do?' She thought for a moment, then looked me right in the eye and said, 'I guess I'll find another tree.' And there it was. There was no denying what I knew deep down inside. I was ready to find myself another tree." Hoda Kotb Reveals 1st Person She Told Of Her 'Today' Exit Kotb noted that the day she broke the news of her exit to her cohosts began just like any other - she woke up at 3:30 a.m., showered, meditated and wrote in her journal before traveling to the office. "I remember feeling a crazy mix of emotions, my big news about to move from my heart to my lips," she wrote. "I knew the words I was about to share were. Unexpected, and that my decision would affect a wide range of coworkers and their plans. The list of people I needed to tell was log, and the order in which I told them was important to me." Kotb