I can relate to Katie Couric— she is 65, and I am almost 62. Her hair styles, shoulder padded jackets, and changing skirt lengths paralleled my work hair and wardrobe choices. Katie reflected the choices we were all making those years, as we got ready for work and dashed out the door.

Her career was part of the generation to follow Barbara Waters, who broke down the doors for Katie and all female journalists who were to follow. She mentions her competition with Deborah Norville, Diane Sawyers, and Connie Chung. She describes the male anchors and correspondents, and the way they were taken seriously just based on their gender; while women had to walk an impossible walk, serious enough not to be dismissed, but not so serious that they would be bypassed for their “bitchiness”. There were so few on-camera jobs for women, that every woman was viewed as a threat, the next young cute thing. It made mentoring nearly impossible, since women’s shelf life was shorter than the men’s. Men could age on camera, and it gave them more gravitas, a word Couric says is Latin for testicles.

Two pivotal events occur that change everything for Couric. The illness and death of her first husband, Jay Monahan at age 42 due to colon cancer, leaving her with their two young daughters to raise on her own, was a devastating loss right as her career was at a high point, during her 15 year stint in the co-anchor seat of the Today show. The second blow occurred in the midst of the Me Too revelations, when it came out that co-anchor Matt Lauer was engaging in sexual relations with much younger female co-workers, abusing his powerful position in a sexually addicted manner. Both the loss of Monahan and the betrayal by Lauer were shattering for Couric, and required strength of character to navigate and move past.

Couric is rightfully proud of her contribution to the advancement of opportunities for female journalists. She was the first solo female anchor of a nightly news show when she left Today to anchor the CBS Evening News, holding that position for five years. Working at CBS was never a good fit, and an environment she clearly did not find comfortable. As a contributor to Sixty Minutes, she did not appreciate the cut-throat competition for stories, and complete lack of collegiality. Learning her personal strengths as she moved along in her career, she was able to assess where her combination of sunny, humorous repartee and serious nose for news could best be used. It was clear that the morning news show environment used her abilities to greatest effect, although her ambitions propelled her to stretch in the CBS positions, which never seemed the best fit.

Couric’s work life covers three themes in an interesting way: 1. women’s balance of work and mothering responsibilities, 2. the changing role of journalism from straight, unbiased reportage to heavily slanted, biased reporting, and 3. the Me Too movement, and end of tolerance of sexual politics in the workplace. Couric’s career is a bridge between the old norms and the new ones. To that, I might add the way technology has forever changed, and continues to change, the way we seek to be informed about events near and far. While Couric has gamely tried to remain relevant and embrace technology’s changes, it is clear she is not part of where the field is moving. Her story is valuable as a part of television journalism’s evolution. I think you will find it both interesting and entertaining, as she tells her story in that funny, personal way she brought to her best interviews. Recommended.