December 1, 2025 • 20 mins
Deborah Roberts On Sisterhood, Being the “Favorite Child," The Challenges of Today’s News + More
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's up his way up at Angela Yee, I'm here,
Jasmine Brand is here, and one of my favorite people
in the whole wide world, Deborah Roberts, is here today
with a new book out, and Sisters Loved and Treasured
is the name of the book. You know, last book
was an Ohms to Teachers, right, which made me do
a whole topic of teachers that really impacted my life
(00:25):
and it was the teacher who changed my life lessons
learned and cherished. So now we have this book which
is oh Mys to sisterhood.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
And I wanted you to be in the book, and
then you said, I don't have sisters. So I was like, okay,
that would be a little tough this time. But I know,
I know how much you loved I always want to
one Well, you know what you will, You will be
inspired to hold tight to your sister friends because of
this book because it does celebrate sisterhood in all ways.
I mean, obviously I have biological sisters a.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Lot, a lot.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Y'r deal, we're deep, We're very deep. But there you know,
the sisterhood, the bond is just real, whether you're related
or not.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Well, let's talk.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
About yours first.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Because I even want to know what made you feel
inspired to write this book.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
And I have to imagine.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
And I know you've beaten yourself up about feeling like
you're not the best sister.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Read the book.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
You've read the book.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Honest about it.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I am honest about it. So after I finished writing
the last book, and I had such a great experience,
I started thinking what would I do next? And you
write really what you know, and I started thinking about
the things that interest me. And at the time, I think,
maybe just I don't know. My sisters were on my radar,
and I've had sisters who have dealt with illnesses, including
(01:37):
one sister right now who is fighting cancer, and I
was sort of thinking about sisterhood in general. And I
had read a study that said sisters boost your emotional
well being. Having a sister is actually good for your
mental health, and I thought that is so interesting. And
then I started looking deep into my own relationships with
my sisters, because they're all over the map. I grew
(01:59):
up in a large family, as you both know, with
six sisters, six sisters and two brothers and one bathroom.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
By the way, first of all those poor brothers exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
In fact I dedicate the book to my oldest brother, Jackie,
who just passed away recently. But we've lost some siblings
along the way. We've lost two sisters, and we can
talk about some of those stories. But I have four
remaining sisters, and I sort of felt that we weren't
as close as we either used to be or could be,
and we're all scattered. And I have this big life
(02:32):
where I travel and you know, I'm on television, and
I thought, well, maybe it's me and maybe I should
be a better sister. So I wanted to delve into
the sister bond and what is it all about? And
the more I started talking to other people about their sisters,
I realized, Number One, I'm not that unusual in terms
of the bond. Yes, in terms of the bonds, sometimes
praying a little bit, but also too that they're all
(02:55):
so different. The relationships don't have to be perfect for
you to have a strong bond.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
And to know that they're always there. I saw they
were in the audience at the view, they were here.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
For the sub day. That had to feel good. How
did they respond?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
They were, first of all, so excited to be in
New York and to be on television and they running
all over yeah, going to a Broadway show and hanging
out because they live in Texas and Florida and Georgia
and they have the kind of lives where they don't
do this kind of thing very often. But I think
more than anything, they got such a kick out of
being celebrated. I have a life that is very big
and that that is, you know, very public, and they
(03:31):
know that. But for them to be pulled into a
project that I was working on and to be celebrated
and to be able to talk a little bit about
our lives and to put some things out there, and
I have to say, honestly, it was actually a very
good experiment for us and bringing my own sisters into
this book. My youngest sister was a little nervous at first.
What are we talking about? What's going on?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Are you are?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
We are?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
We like shaking the family tree and feeling all the secrets.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But they trust you because I think people would know
your intentions.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Is never that, yes, And I.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Made it very clear to her it is not about
making anybody feel uncomfortable. And my youngest sister, Belinda, and
I have struggled a little bit over the years with
our relationship, and I think she was a little worried about,
you know, what's your perception? What are you going to say?
And how honest can I be about you? And we
wound up having a really lovely discussion about the ups
and downs and difficulties and how we felt either guilty
(04:24):
or just you know, badly about different things that have
happened over the years. And it opened up a conversation,
which is what I'm hoping the book will do for others.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Man, there's all different stories and there Viola Davis had
a really powerful one.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
How did you get That? Was probably one of my
most memorable ones because it was so traumatic, and she
was talking about how trauma helped bond her sisters what
they saw growing up, and also her having like panic
attacks and anxiety attacks when she was little and her
sister helped her. But how did you get all this?
How did you get her to pull that kind of
stuff out?
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Well, Viola had actually talked about all of this because
she had written a memoir, and so I knew that
she had put it out there, and I'd run into Viola,
and I would like to say we're friendly, because I've
interviewed her for a few stories before, and so I,
of course, in the course of thinking about sisters, you
think about people that you read about who have interesting,
unique bonds with their sisters. And I thought, rather than
(05:19):
just talk about beautiful, lovely bonds and people who get
along so well, let's talk about bonding over trauma. And
I asked Viola when I saw her last if she
would be willing to talk to me about her story,
and she was happy to do it. And so that
was so interesting to.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Me to hear.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I mean, we've heard her talk about it some, but
she opened up I think in a way with me.
She took the time to really talk about what her
sisters meant to her. And the same with other people
when I talk whether they were all famous, like Octavia Spencer,
Arianna Huffington, or Connie Chung the news anchor. There were
a lot of bold names, but there were a lot
of just regular folks, including my assistant Alex and her
(05:57):
twin sister.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, you have a whole thing about twin yes in
here and the special bond the twins share coming from
the same DNA, So can you talk about that?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
They call themselves womb mates. You know, who can be
closer to you than the one you shared the womb with.
Jenna bush Hager and her sister Kim and Karen are
the friends of mine here in New York. I just
thought the sister bond is already interesting. But twins, who
often say they can feel each other's pain almost read
each other's emotions. Michael Strahan's two girls, Isabella and Sophia,
(06:29):
one of them was going through a life threatening illness.
I thought the twin bond was particularly interesting because it
can be fraught. People see them as the same, the twins.
The twins, they get their own identity exactly, and oftentimes
they don't necessarily love that, don't they.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Don't, Alex do I hate yeah, even saying I'm not
going to the same.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
School as you, because I would love to like form
my own.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Idea, like defiant. I have friends that are twins. They're
older than me, and they really look alike, but they
are like polar opposite, and it kind of irritates them.
Sometimes people can't recognize it, like the difference. We call
them the twins.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
It's kind of likely. Yeah, no, no, we have a name. Yeah,
but there are also twins too, though, who were just
so close and felt that they were upset when they
got separated in school and they felt that, you know,
they were denied this opportunity to be so close. So
you're absolutely right. That's what I thought was so interesting.
The journey of sisterhood is complex. It can be beautiful,
(07:27):
it can be challenging, it can be infuriating, it can
be all of these things, but yet there is a bond.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
And Kim and Karen I believe they both talked about
their fertility issues too in the book, and.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
They talk about the fertility issues, and one of them
was actually having a major, major crisis, and the other
one said she felt her pain.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Can you imagine?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I thought, how is that? You know, you kind of
wonder like, oh wait a second, is that possible? It
makes but it makes sense though, and ps they're they're
identical twins. They came from the same egg. So maybe
there is something there that just unites them in a
way that is different from other sisters.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
You know, what I noticed as a comment thread throughout
the book is that a lot of times when the
sisters were talking about each other, they could be opposites.
Like there's Kim Alexis and Randa Derbin Kim, a former
supermodel Kim Alexis and Ronda Derbin. Kim is a former supermodel.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Ronda is a retired tech executive.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
What I notice is sometimes like one sister will put
herself down, like you're so much smarter than I am,
You're the pretty one, you're this, you're that, And the
other sister would be like, you do not say that. Rejected, Yeah,
because that is not true. You are beautiful, you're this.
You know, just that relationship of how sometimes you compare yourself.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, but you his sisters here to amplify and to
make you feel worthy. That happened with Robin Roberts and
her two sisters, selling Inn and Dorothy. So I had
interviewed Robin for the first book about teachers, and I thought,
you know, I mean, I know Robin's story, but it
would be fun to hear from her sisters about being
Robin's sister. Yeah, And Robin maybe secretly was a little nervous.
She thought it was a great idea. But when I
(08:59):
sat to you know you in the zoom the two sisters,
Robin pops up in the background, I was like, what
are you doing here? But the second the little sister
and Robin's the baby sister. What was interesting was that
Sally Anne, who was Robin's stem cell donor saved her life,
was so self deprecating and when I ask her about that,
she well, you know, and other people should do it,
(09:21):
and it's an honor to be able to. And Robin
chimed in and said, wait a second, sister, no, let
me give you props. And she elevated her sister and
amplified her voice, and I thought, that's a classic sister
moment to jump in and say no, you're not giving
yourself enough credit. And that was once again the epitome
of the sister relationship. Again, not always beautiful, not always great,
(09:42):
lots of fights, you know, people are at each other's throats.
But at the end of the day, there is something
that holds you together and makes you feel something different
and special toward that person whom you share a history with,
you shared a home with, you have a background. Who
else knows where your scars are a physical and emotional
your sister. You know someone who shared your childhood.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And sometimes you don't share a home, right man. So
there is a story in here.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Denise Graves, and you know the opera singer.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, so can you tell us about that one? Because
I thought that was very interesting Denise.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Now, I have to tell you guys, sometimes I wasn't
prepared for what I was going to find out because
I thought I knew people a little bit maybe when
I approached them, and Denise just blew me away with
her story. First of all, Denise is this mezzo soprano
opera star. Everybody knows her from stage. And she starts
to explain her sister, her relationship with her sister, the
two of them growing up, they were also sort of opposites,
(10:41):
and you know, Denise used to torture her sister a
little bit, and you hear these stories a lot and
actually blamed her for something when they were little, and
you know, and over the years never really took you
took ownership of it, but you eventually did. So they
had the classic sister role of having their ups and
downs and Denise sort of bossing her around. But then
(11:01):
Denise also discovered that there were other siblings in the
family later on after her father died, and she did not.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Know that at the funeral.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
At the funeral and I said, oh my gosh, Denise,
are you sure you want to share all of this,
but she but she discovered she had other sisters, and
ultimately she's just decided that that's just life and that,
you know, there's power in that owning what your maybe
messy situation can be. And I just loved hearing her story.
She and her sister had a big fight about Denise
(11:29):
commenting on how she was raising her son or daughter,
and and they had but that's what sisters do. You
irritate each other. Yes, yes, my job I tell you
what to do. And my youngest sister would say the
same thing. You're the bossy sister who's always telling.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Me what to do.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
You definitely give that yeah, yeah, yeah, you felt like
the organizer.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, telling them what to do. Tell me. She's like,
you're judgmental.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
You know what. You can't sing?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Though I cannot sing, they all saying, and we all see,
well you can, I can a little little not like that,
not like that, okay, but when we sang when they
were home recently and we sang a little bit, I
joined in and afterwards they all went, whoa, you didn't
blow it.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I used to blow the harmony and I didn't. I
a little Over the years, you know.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
That was always interesting too, and big families, people always
felt like there's a favorite, yes, and so that's a thing.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Don't start, Angela, don't start. Oh my gosh, I know
they they called me out for that. On a television
show in the morning. Somebody said was she the favorite?
And they all went yes.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
But I really.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Wasn't the favorite in the household, although my youngest sister said,
I sort of always thought Mom loved you more. And
that was a moment of honesty, that's how. And it
also helped me understand her more. Maybe we've had bumps
over the years because she had certain perceptions. She also
felt that she was left behind. She was the last
one to be as a and that's hard, your last
(12:58):
one home with mom and dad.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Everybody's gone, Yeah, you don't want to tag You don't
want to be the Tagaloge exact.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
They don't want you to be Tagloge exactly. I'm so
kind of tired of raising all the mother kids exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
And I would call her and tell her now and
again what she should be doing, you know, and what
she wasn't doing right. So she had that perception of me,
and I had the perception of her as being the
spoiled younger child. So we have been able to talk
about some things in our adult lives that we weren't
able to before. But I think we all agreed that
maybe I was a little bit of a standout just
(13:32):
because of whatever I my aspirations and things I did
in school, but I was not the favorite.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Okay, we're also celebrating thirty years. Yes, I mean that's
a big deal for you at ABC, for you being married,
because that all happened at the same time, the same
What a crazy year was that? Oh my god, all
that that happened in the same year.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Angela, you do your homework, you know everything. I love
that she's just like she ties it all together. She
always even together too, I know, and I'm thinking maybe
she'll miss this or that, and she never does. This
was such a beautiful, beautiful moment because I will always
remember my anniversary, my wedding anniversary, because I started at
ABC twenty twenty in May, and then I got married
(14:12):
in September of nineteen ninety five, and I was like.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Were you able to take time off?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
No?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Probably not, probably not lunch, not lunch.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
But it's a beautiful time I think in life to
be able to look back and to think that, Wow,
not only was I able to achieve this dream and
work at network television and you know on.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Twenty two stay elevating like twenty Like last time I
saw you, we had the whole twenty twenty discussion of
that role, and here you are just flourishing.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Okay, too nice, you're too nice. Yeah, But to be
able to make it to that program that I had
grown up watching and I really really aspire to it.
So there's that. And then to also be celebrating thirty
years with this man who makes me happy and annoyed
and nourished and and all things. All those things, but
(15:02):
it's been really great. And to be celebrating our life
and our children and all of that. It's been a
nice year.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I want to ask you too about the news right now.
Oh yeah, there's a lot happening, and yeah, because I
know it's a tough situation being in the spot that
you and we need you there. You know, I do
want to say that, like it's there's no question about that.
But I'm also just concerned, like watching so many things happening,
so many ships, so many things like not able to
(15:29):
be reported on in this way, and people just kind
of having to delicately say things when they may want
to scream it out.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
To say more. It's a very difficult time, and I
think it's always been a little bit difficult, I think
for us in the news industry, because at the end
of the day, we are in industry and we have
corporate parents and all of that. But it is a
very different time. But you know, there are people who
are saying to me, if you look back at the
sixties and the seventies and the tumult going on in
the country, that was also a very difficult time, and
(16:00):
news mattered more than ever. Now. We didn't have you know,
people trying to shut down news organizations and silence and
news reporters and all of that at that time, but
there were efforts to push back and to definitely silence
reporting back in the sixties and the seventies. So to
some degree, we have been there historically before, but we
(16:21):
are in a very different time because of social media
and because of so many other influences and platforms I
think that surround us. It's a very challenging time, and
it's a very very challenging time because you know, it's
hard what I really try to work and assert myself
about is truth. And I think all reporters and journalists
(16:44):
are all about truth. And when people are picking and
choosing what they feel is truthful, that is very difficult.
I mean, I grew up in a time where if
you saw a report on Walter Cronkite on CBS or
in the New York Times or on sixty Minutes, and
you know it was obviously reported very well, you really
believed that that was something you needed to know about
(17:06):
and it was truthful, and you believed it.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You didn't think you had to fact check it.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
And the idea that people will doubt us and doubt
our motives and doubt our truth telling is very, very difficult.
So I think we just have to keep keep fighting
the fight and keep keep trying.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's how we need certain people in positions always. You know,
I've grown up watching Debora Roberts, so it's amazing to
me that I can text her texting.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
You, No, like, that's amazing to me.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Just I just want to say, I love what it
is and who you are as a human being.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
I love this.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
But my whole life, when I was growing up, I
always wanted a little sister. It did not happen.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Well that's okay, that's okay, because you want to feel
like you have a little sister. You're going to feel like.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I think we have sisters that we choose.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Well, you have exactly, you have a sisterhood. And Carol
Reziwill one of our essays, talked about that she's got sisters,
but she's so close to the chosen sisters her friends.
So you too have a sister.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
She's like my big sister. She tells me what to do.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
There you go. She's more like my daughter. If I
had to define it, and you have to define it, but.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I want to just can I just tell you guys,
the audio book is so great.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yeah, we love your voice.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
It's not your voice on the audio books.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's there are others. So I read sections that I
read narrowate sections. But then we have actors who read sections.
So someone reads Viola Davis's story, someone reads I'll tav
and the voices just bring it to life. And I
just I'm enjoying listening to the audio book as well,
and I never really do so read the book and
listen to it as well.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Did you learn anything about yourself while you were writing this,
I learned that I.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Was probably a little hard on myself and my sisters
by thinking that maybe our bond wasn't as strong as
it is because we do have ups and downs, and
I learned that everybody does, and everybody's got stuff, but
that doesn't mean that you are not bonded. And I
think I feel closer to my sisters as a result
of it.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Well, this book, Sisters Loved and Tergit, I think is
amazing for the holidays.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Perfect timing. I know you timed it that way. Oh
you know, I think about the planner. You know planner.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
So this is something that I think that you know, sisters,
your chosen ones, your blood sisters, your sisters you just
found out about years later.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Listen, I don't know my dad wasn't getting in like that,
but but definitely something that you guys should go and
pick up. Are you doing any like book tours or anything.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
You're doing some signings here and there, so I'm happy
to hopefully people will find me and I'll sign books
for you, But just pick up one for you and
one for your sister or your sister friend. I do
think you will just really enjoy these stories, be inspired
and moved and touched.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
And this is so beautiful. I want to say, Connie
Tongue is in here.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I just did Maury Povich's podcast yesterday on Part with Maury.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
So she's so funny.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes, by the way, By the way, they are both hilarious,
like they found each other.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, it's a good marriage.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yes, it's perfect.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
All right, Well, thank you so much again, Debora Roberts.
Make sure y'all check her out on twenty twenty. Also,
because that is my show and it's also streaming too,
so even if I don't see.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It, I can.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Plus, yes, period, I'm gay.
What's up his way up at Angela Yee, I'm here,
Jasmine Brand is here, and one of my favorite people
in the whole wide world, Deborah Roberts, is here today
with a new book out, and Sisters Loved and Treasured
is the name of the book. You know, last book
was an Ohms to Teachers, right, which made me do
a whole topic of teachers that really impacted my life
(00:25):
and it was the teacher who changed my life lessons
learned and cherished. So now we have this book which
is oh Mys to sisterhood.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
And I wanted you to be in the book, and
then you said, I don't have sisters. So I was like, okay,
that would be a little tough this time. But I know,
I know how much you loved I always want to
one Well, you know what you will, You will be
inspired to hold tight to your sister friends because of
this book because it does celebrate sisterhood in all ways.
I mean, obviously I have biological sisters a.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Lot, a lot.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Y'r deal, we're deep, We're very deep. But there you know,
the sisterhood, the bond is just real, whether you're related
or not.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Well, let's talk.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
About yours first.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Because I even want to know what made you feel
inspired to write this book.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
And I have to imagine.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
And I know you've beaten yourself up about feeling like
you're not the best sister.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Read the book.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
You've read the book.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Honest about it.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I am honest about it. So after I finished writing
the last book, and I had such a great experience,
I started thinking what would I do next? And you
write really what you know, and I started thinking about
the things that interest me. And at the time, I think,
maybe just I don't know. My sisters were on my radar,
and I've had sisters who have dealt with illnesses, including
(01:37):
one sister right now who is fighting cancer, and I
was sort of thinking about sisterhood in general. And I
had read a study that said sisters boost your emotional
well being. Having a sister is actually good for your
mental health, and I thought that is so interesting. And
then I started looking deep into my own relationships with
my sisters, because they're all over the map. I grew
(01:59):
up in a large family, as you both know, with
six sisters, six sisters and two brothers and one bathroom.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
By the way, first of all those poor brothers exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
In fact I dedicate the book to my oldest brother, Jackie,
who just passed away recently. But we've lost some siblings
along the way. We've lost two sisters, and we can
talk about some of those stories. But I have four
remaining sisters, and I sort of felt that we weren't
as close as we either used to be or could be,
and we're all scattered. And I have this big life
(02:32):
where I travel and you know, I'm on television, and
I thought, well, maybe it's me and maybe I should
be a better sister. So I wanted to delve into
the sister bond and what is it all about? And
the more I started talking to other people about their sisters,
I realized, Number One, I'm not that unusual in terms
of the bond. Yes, in terms of the bonds, sometimes
praying a little bit, but also too that they're all
(02:55):
so different. The relationships don't have to be perfect for
you to have a strong bond.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
And to know that they're always there. I saw they
were in the audience at the view, they were here.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
For the sub day. That had to feel good. How
did they respond?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
They were, first of all, so excited to be in
New York and to be on television and they running
all over yeah, going to a Broadway show and hanging
out because they live in Texas and Florida and Georgia
and they have the kind of lives where they don't
do this kind of thing very often. But I think
more than anything, they got such a kick out of
being celebrated. I have a life that is very big
and that that is, you know, very public, and they
(03:31):
know that. But for them to be pulled into a
project that I was working on and to be celebrated
and to be able to talk a little bit about
our lives and to put some things out there, and
I have to say, honestly, it was actually a very
good experiment for us and bringing my own sisters into
this book. My youngest sister was a little nervous at first.
What are we talking about? What's going on?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Are you are?
Speaker 4 (03:53):
We are?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
We like shaking the family tree and feeling all the secrets.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
But they trust you because I think people would know
your intentions.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Is never that, yes, And I.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Made it very clear to her it is not about
making anybody feel uncomfortable. And my youngest sister, Belinda, and
I have struggled a little bit over the years with
our relationship, and I think she was a little worried about,
you know, what's your perception? What are you going to say?
And how honest can I be about you? And we
wound up having a really lovely discussion about the ups
and downs and difficulties and how we felt either guilty
(04:24):
or just you know, badly about different things that have
happened over the years. And it opened up a conversation,
which is what I'm hoping the book will do for others.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Man, there's all different stories and there Viola Davis had
a really powerful one.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
How did you get That? Was probably one of my
most memorable ones because it was so traumatic, and she
was talking about how trauma helped bond her sisters what
they saw growing up, and also her having like panic
attacks and anxiety attacks when she was little and her
sister helped her. But how did you get all this?
How did you get her to pull that kind of
stuff out?
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Well, Viola had actually talked about all of this because
she had written a memoir, and so I knew that
she had put it out there, and I'd run into Viola,
and I would like to say we're friendly, because I've
interviewed her for a few stories before, and so I,
of course, in the course of thinking about sisters, you
think about people that you read about who have interesting,
unique bonds with their sisters. And I thought, rather than
(05:19):
just talk about beautiful, lovely bonds and people who get
along so well, let's talk about bonding over trauma. And
I asked Viola when I saw her last if she
would be willing to talk to me about her story,
and she was happy to do it. And so that
was so interesting to.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Me to hear.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I mean, we've heard her talk about it some, but
she opened up I think in a way with me.
She took the time to really talk about what her
sisters meant to her. And the same with other people
when I talk whether they were all famous, like Octavia Spencer,
Arianna Huffington, or Connie Chung the news anchor. There were
a lot of bold names, but there were a lot
of just regular folks, including my assistant Alex and her
(05:57):
twin sister.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, you have a whole thing about twin yes in
here and the special bond the twins share coming from
the same DNA, So can you talk about that?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
They call themselves womb mates. You know, who can be
closer to you than the one you shared the womb with.
Jenna bush Hager and her sister Kim and Karen are
the friends of mine here in New York. I just
thought the sister bond is already interesting. But twins, who
often say they can feel each other's pain almost read
each other's emotions. Michael Strahan's two girls, Isabella and Sophia,
(06:29):
one of them was going through a life threatening illness.
I thought the twin bond was particularly interesting because it
can be fraught. People see them as the same, the twins.
The twins, they get their own identity exactly, and oftentimes
they don't necessarily love that, don't they.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Don't, Alex do I hate yeah, even saying I'm not
going to the same.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
School as you, because I would love to like form
my own.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Idea, like defiant. I have friends that are twins. They're
older than me, and they really look alike, but they
are like polar opposite, and it kind of irritates them.
Sometimes people can't recognize it, like the difference. We call
them the twins.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
It's kind of likely. Yeah, no, no, we have a name. Yeah,
but there are also twins too, though, who were just
so close and felt that they were upset when they
got separated in school and they felt that, you know,
they were denied this opportunity to be so close. So
you're absolutely right. That's what I thought was so interesting.
The journey of sisterhood is complex. It can be beautiful,
(07:27):
it can be challenging, it can be infuriating, it can
be all of these things, but yet there is a bond.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
And Kim and Karen I believe they both talked about
their fertility issues too in the book, and.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
They talk about the fertility issues, and one of them
was actually having a major, major crisis, and the other
one said she felt her pain.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Can you imagine?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I thought, how is that? You know, you kind of
wonder like, oh wait a second, is that possible? It
makes but it makes sense though, and ps they're they're
identical twins. They came from the same egg. So maybe
there is something there that just unites them in a
way that is different from other sisters.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
You know, what I noticed as a comment thread throughout
the book is that a lot of times when the
sisters were talking about each other, they could be opposites.
Like there's Kim Alexis and Randa Derbin Kim, a former
supermodel Kim Alexis and Ronda Derbin. Kim is a former supermodel.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Ronda is a retired tech executive.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
What I notice is sometimes like one sister will put
herself down, like you're so much smarter than I am,
You're the pretty one, you're this, you're that, And the
other sister would be like, you do not say that. Rejected, Yeah,
because that is not true. You are beautiful, you're this.
You know, just that relationship of how sometimes you compare yourself.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, but you his sisters here to amplify and to
make you feel worthy. That happened with Robin Roberts and
her two sisters, selling Inn and Dorothy. So I had
interviewed Robin for the first book about teachers, and I thought,
you know, I mean, I know Robin's story, but it
would be fun to hear from her sisters about being
Robin's sister. Yeah, And Robin maybe secretly was a little nervous.
She thought it was a great idea. But when I
(08:59):
sat to you know you in the zoom the two sisters,
Robin pops up in the background, I was like, what
are you doing here? But the second the little sister
and Robin's the baby sister. What was interesting was that
Sally Anne, who was Robin's stem cell donor saved her life,
was so self deprecating and when I ask her about that,
she well, you know, and other people should do it,
(09:21):
and it's an honor to be able to. And Robin
chimed in and said, wait a second, sister, no, let
me give you props. And she elevated her sister and
amplified her voice, and I thought, that's a classic sister
moment to jump in and say no, you're not giving
yourself enough credit. And that was once again the epitome
of the sister relationship. Again, not always beautiful, not always great,
(09:42):
lots of fights, you know, people are at each other's throats.
But at the end of the day, there is something
that holds you together and makes you feel something different
and special toward that person whom you share a history with,
you shared a home with, you have a background. Who
else knows where your scars are a physical and emotional
your sister. You know someone who shared your childhood.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And sometimes you don't share a home, right man. So
there is a story in here.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Denise Graves, and you know the opera singer.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, so can you tell us about that one? Because
I thought that was very interesting Denise.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Now, I have to tell you guys, sometimes I wasn't
prepared for what I was going to find out because
I thought I knew people a little bit maybe when
I approached them, and Denise just blew me away with
her story. First of all, Denise is this mezzo soprano
opera star. Everybody knows her from stage. And she starts
to explain her sister, her relationship with her sister, the
two of them growing up, they were also sort of opposites,
(10:41):
and you know, Denise used to torture her sister a
little bit, and you hear these stories a lot and
actually blamed her for something when they were little, and
you know, and over the years never really took you
took ownership of it, but you eventually did. So they
had the classic sister role of having their ups and
downs and Denise sort of bossing her around. But then
(11:01):
Denise also discovered that there were other siblings in the
family later on after her father died, and she did not.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Know that at the funeral.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
At the funeral and I said, oh my gosh, Denise,
are you sure you want to share all of this,
but she but she discovered she had other sisters, and
ultimately she's just decided that that's just life and that,
you know, there's power in that owning what your maybe
messy situation can be. And I just loved hearing her story.
She and her sister had a big fight about Denise
(11:29):
commenting on how she was raising her son or daughter,
and and they had but that's what sisters do. You
irritate each other. Yes, yes, my job I tell you
what to do. And my youngest sister would say the
same thing. You're the bossy sister who's always telling.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Me what to do.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
You definitely give that yeah, yeah, yeah, you felt like
the organizer.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, telling them what to do. Tell me. She's like,
you're judgmental.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
You know what. You can't sing?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Though I cannot sing, they all saying, and we all see,
well you can, I can a little little not like that,
not like that, okay, but when we sang when they
were home recently and we sang a little bit, I
joined in and afterwards they all went, whoa, you didn't
blow it.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I used to blow the harmony and I didn't. I
a little Over the years, you know.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
That was always interesting too, and big families, people always
felt like there's a favorite, yes, and so that's a thing.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Don't start, Angela, don't start. Oh my gosh, I know
they they called me out for that. On a television
show in the morning. Somebody said was she the favorite?
And they all went yes.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
But I really.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Wasn't the favorite in the household, although my youngest sister said,
I sort of always thought Mom loved you more. And
that was a moment of honesty, that's how. And it
also helped me understand her more. Maybe we've had bumps
over the years because she had certain perceptions. She also
felt that she was left behind. She was the last
one to be as a and that's hard, your last
(12:58):
one home with mom and dad.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Everybody's gone, Yeah, you don't want to tag You don't
want to be the Tagaloge exact.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
They don't want you to be Tagloge exactly. I'm so
kind of tired of raising all the mother kids exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
And I would call her and tell her now and
again what she should be doing, you know, and what
she wasn't doing right. So she had that perception of me,
and I had the perception of her as being the
spoiled younger child. So we have been able to talk
about some things in our adult lives that we weren't
able to before. But I think we all agreed that
maybe I was a little bit of a standout just
(13:32):
because of whatever I my aspirations and things I did
in school, but I was not the favorite.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Okay, we're also celebrating thirty years. Yes, I mean that's
a big deal for you at ABC, for you being married,
because that all happened at the same time, the same
What a crazy year was that? Oh my god, all
that that happened in the same year.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Angela, you do your homework, you know everything. I love
that she's just like she ties it all together. She
always even together too, I know, and I'm thinking maybe
she'll miss this or that, and she never does. This
was such a beautiful, beautiful moment because I will always
remember my anniversary, my wedding anniversary, because I started at
ABC twenty twenty in May, and then I got married
(14:12):
in September of nineteen ninety five, and I was like.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Were you able to take time off?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
No?
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Probably not, probably not lunch, not lunch.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
But it's a beautiful time I think in life to
be able to look back and to think that, Wow,
not only was I able to achieve this dream and
work at network television and you know on.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Twenty two stay elevating like twenty Like last time I
saw you, we had the whole twenty twenty discussion of
that role, and here you are just flourishing.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Okay, too nice, you're too nice. Yeah, But to be
able to make it to that program that I had
grown up watching and I really really aspire to it.
So there's that. And then to also be celebrating thirty
years with this man who makes me happy and annoyed
and nourished and and all things. All those things, but
(15:02):
it's been really great. And to be celebrating our life
and our children and all of that. It's been a
nice year.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I want to ask you too about the news right now.
Oh yeah, there's a lot happening, and yeah, because I
know it's a tough situation being in the spot that
you and we need you there. You know, I do
want to say that, like it's there's no question about that.
But I'm also just concerned, like watching so many things happening,
so many ships, so many things like not able to
(15:29):
be reported on in this way, and people just kind
of having to delicately say things when they may want
to scream it out.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
To say more. It's a very difficult time, and I
think it's always been a little bit difficult, I think
for us in the news industry, because at the end
of the day, we are in industry and we have
corporate parents and all of that. But it is a
very different time. But you know, there are people who
are saying to me, if you look back at the
sixties and the seventies and the tumult going on in
the country, that was also a very difficult time, and
(16:00):
news mattered more than ever. Now. We didn't have you know,
people trying to shut down news organizations and silence and
news reporters and all of that at that time, but
there were efforts to push back and to definitely silence
reporting back in the sixties and the seventies. So to
some degree, we have been there historically before, but we
(16:21):
are in a very different time because of social media
and because of so many other influences and platforms I
think that surround us. It's a very challenging time, and
it's a very very challenging time because you know, it's
hard what I really try to work and assert myself
about is truth. And I think all reporters and journalists
(16:44):
are all about truth. And when people are picking and
choosing what they feel is truthful, that is very difficult.
I mean, I grew up in a time where if
you saw a report on Walter Cronkite on CBS or
in the New York Times or on sixty Minutes, and
you know it was obviously reported very well, you really
believed that that was something you needed to know about
(17:06):
and it was truthful, and you believed it.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You didn't think you had to fact check it.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
And the idea that people will doubt us and doubt
our motives and doubt our truth telling is very, very difficult.
So I think we just have to keep keep fighting
the fight and keep keep trying.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's how we need certain people in positions always. You know,
I've grown up watching Debora Roberts, so it's amazing to
me that I can text her texting.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
You, No, like, that's amazing to me.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Just I just want to say, I love what it
is and who you are as a human being.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
I love this.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
But my whole life, when I was growing up, I
always wanted a little sister. It did not happen.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Well that's okay, that's okay, because you want to feel
like you have a little sister. You're going to feel like.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
I think we have sisters that we choose.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Well, you have exactly, you have a sisterhood. And Carol
Reziwill one of our essays, talked about that she's got sisters,
but she's so close to the chosen sisters her friends.
So you too have a sister.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
She's like my big sister. She tells me what to do.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
There you go. She's more like my daughter. If I
had to define it, and you have to define it, but.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I want to just can I just tell you guys,
the audio book is so great.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yeah, we love your voice.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
It's not your voice on the audio books.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
It's there are others. So I read sections that I
read narrowate sections. But then we have actors who read sections.
So someone reads Viola Davis's story, someone reads I'll tav
and the voices just bring it to life. And I
just I'm enjoying listening to the audio book as well,
and I never really do so read the book and
listen to it as well.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Did you learn anything about yourself while you were writing this,
I learned that I.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Was probably a little hard on myself and my sisters
by thinking that maybe our bond wasn't as strong as
it is because we do have ups and downs, and
I learned that everybody does, and everybody's got stuff, but
that doesn't mean that you are not bonded. And I
think I feel closer to my sisters as a result
of it.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Well, this book, Sisters Loved and Tergit, I think is
amazing for the holidays.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Perfect timing. I know you timed it that way. Oh
you know, I think about the planner. You know planner.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
So this is something that I think that you know, sisters,
your chosen ones, your blood sisters, your sisters you just
found out about years later.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
You know.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Listen, I don't know my dad wasn't getting in like that,
but but definitely something that you guys should go and
pick up. Are you doing any like book tours or anything.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
You're doing some signings here and there, so I'm happy
to hopefully people will find me and I'll sign books
for you, But just pick up one for you and
one for your sister or your sister friend. I do
think you will just really enjoy these stories, be inspired
and moved and touched.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
And this is so beautiful. I want to say, Connie
Tongue is in here.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I just did Maury Povich's podcast yesterday on Part with Maury.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
So she's so funny.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes, by the way, By the way, they are both hilarious,
like they found each other.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, it's a good marriage.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yes, it's perfect.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
All right, Well, thank you so much again, Debora Roberts.
Make sure y'all check her out on twenty twenty. Also,
because that is my show and it's also streaming too,
so even if I don't see.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
It, I can.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Plus, yes, period, I'm gay.
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