Kotb tells her daughter ‘ I’ve Loved You Since Forever’
Hoda Kotb has loved her adopted daughter “since forever.”
The Today host was inspired by that love when writing her new children’s book ( out March 6, HarperCollins), I’ve Loved You Since Forever.
“This book means a lot to me because the title, in and of itself, really sums it all up. It’s like when you’ve loved someone before you met them,” she tells USA TODAY. “‘ I’ve loved you since forever’ is just kind of how I felt. It’s sort of like, ‘ I knowyou’re sleeping under the same moon and stars as me, and one day we’ll find each other.’ ”
The title of the book, Kotb says, is something she would scribble in her journal as she practiced “waiting wisely” for her daughter, without any intention of it becoming a book. Once the line was shared during a meeting with HarperCollins, the rest was history.
“Iwas froma really organic and cool and real place that it transferred from just thoughts inmy heart to something on paper,” she says.
Since being brought home in February 2017, Haley Joy has inspired Kotb in more ways than just her book.
“She changed my whole life, really. She started it. I feel like my life started again. I can’t even imagine what it was like before her. I feel like everything began again,” Kotb gushes, getting tearful. “If I lost everything in my life today … but I had her, I’d be so fine.”
The journey to get to Haley Joy, however, wasn’t easy, Kotb says.
The 53- year- old says she thought she missed her window to have a child, despite spending most of her adult years thinking she’d be a mom “one day.”
“You tell yourself, ‘ That’s OK! I have so many blessings. I have great family, a great boyfriend, great friends, a great job,’” she says. “But then late at night when you’re thinking about it, you can’t push the feelings away.”
Her book, which is filled with heartfelt poetic lines, sends a universal message of love that can speak to families with and without adopted children, Kotb says.
“I think it will resonate for anyone who has waited for something,” she says. “And also for anyone who’s wished and hoped and prayed for something and wondered if it would happen.”
The book is also getting a musical rendition from Kelly Clarkson, who put Kotb’s words to music.
Kotb, who teased the news on Twitter, says Clarkson wrote the song ( out March 8) after Kotb approached the singer with the idea.
“I just thought there was no way she was going to be able to. I thought there weren’t enough words,” she says. “You know when you’re like, ‘ That can’t work, that’ll never work.’ And she was like, ‘ Oh yes it will!’”
As for reading the story and playing the song for Haley Joy, Kotb hopes her daughter feels the love expressed in the book every day.
“I hope the book adds to it, but I plan on showing her how much I love her every day. She will be loved unconditionally for her whole life by me.”