What do you think?
Rate this book
When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 10, 2025
When News Breaks is a powerful memoir about adversity, dreams, and living out your purpose. Lin's reflections on her professional and personal life show us the both/and that is so relatable when news breaks in our own lives. While it's important to feel the heavy emotions, what's more important is what you decide to do next. Carol's memoir is a beautiful reminder that we are all stronger than we realize.
November 27, 2025
Carol Lin’s narrative voice is both emotional and measured. I especially liked how she represented her complex relationships with her mother, her husband, and her work as a journalist. She did an excellent job of transitioning between different aspects of her life with very different tones–from dangerous, high-adrenaline field reporting to her more ordinary domestic life.
Lin’s career and personal backgrounds give her a unique perspective on the American political landscape of the 1990s and 2000s. The book contains very little opinionated commentary on the events she covers; Lin focuses on how the larger events that took place during her journalism tenure impacted her and her loved ones. If you’re looking for a historical or political analysis of 9/11 or the Second Gulf War, this book is not what you’re looking for. Although she was a journalist, the content and style of Lin’s writing is not very reminiscent of the hard reporting found in news publications.
One of the main arcs in this memoir is the story of Lin’s relationship with Will, her first husband. I really liked the way she portrayed the complexity and tenderness of their life together. Lin mastered what I think is one of the most important, and also one of the most difficult, parts of memoir writing: depicting other people as multifaceted characters with agency. Will, Lin’s parents, and Lin’s friends and coworkers all feel real and have motivations outside the narrator’s story.
I also really loved the commentary on the nature of work, and how Lin’s relationship to her career changed over time. There were times when she used her job to escape her life, and she put a lot of her self-worth into her status in her career. Lin gave great insight into the televised journalism industry of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s, often highlighting the struggles of being an Asian woman in a company and field dominated by white men.
There were only a couple of issues I had with this book. There were times when the dialogue felt a little unnatural, and I sometimes had trouble following the timeline of the story; the way she represented the passage of time could be confusing.
Overall, I thought this memoir was brilliantly written, and was told from a unique and important perspective. I would recommend When News Breaks to any reader who enjoys memoirs, especially to those interested in the intersection of professional and family life.
***Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.***
Lin’s career and personal backgrounds give her a unique perspective on the American political landscape of the 1990s and 2000s. The book contains very little opinionated commentary on the events she covers; Lin focuses on how the larger events that took place during her journalism tenure impacted her and her loved ones. If you’re looking for a historical or political analysis of 9/11 or the Second Gulf War, this book is not what you’re looking for. Although she was a journalist, the content and style of Lin’s writing is not very reminiscent of the hard reporting found in news publications.
One of the main arcs in this memoir is the story of Lin’s relationship with Will, her first husband. I really liked the way she portrayed the complexity and tenderness of their life together. Lin mastered what I think is one of the most important, and also one of the most difficult, parts of memoir writing: depicting other people as multifaceted characters with agency. Will, Lin’s parents, and Lin’s friends and coworkers all feel real and have motivations outside the narrator’s story.
I also really loved the commentary on the nature of work, and how Lin’s relationship to her career changed over time. There were times when she used her job to escape her life, and she put a lot of her self-worth into her status in her career. Lin gave great insight into the televised journalism industry of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s, often highlighting the struggles of being an Asian woman in a company and field dominated by white men.
There were only a couple of issues I had with this book. There were times when the dialogue felt a little unnatural, and I sometimes had trouble following the timeline of the story; the way she represented the passage of time could be confusing.
Overall, I thought this memoir was brilliantly written, and was told from a unique and important perspective. I would recommend When News Breaks to any reader who enjoys memoirs, especially to those interested in the intersection of professional and family life.
***Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.***
December 8, 2025
Carol Lin was the first anchor to break the news of 9/11, but this memoir is really about what it costs to be the one Asian woman in the room, constantly mistaken for Connie Chung even after years of building her own career. It’s about choosing between the assignment of a lifetime and being home when it matters. About your mother wanting you to marry a doctor while you’re off chasing wars and hurricanes.
Lin doesn’t hold back about the toll of constant travel, midnight panic attacks in hotel rooms, or falling asleep seconds before going live on air. She writes about meeting O.J. Simpson on a plane and being too exhausted to care. About covering the Loma Prieta earthquake until she lost track of days. About how the job that made her feel most alive was also killing her.
The personal story is just as raw—a complicated marriage, her husband Will’s cancer diagnosis during her pregnancy, trying to anchor the news while her life falls apart. That playground scene where she lies about being a widow because the truth makes other parents uncomfortable? That’s the kind of honesty that runs through the whole book.
What struck me most is how Lin refuses to separate her different selves—the ambitious reporter, the daughter of immigrants, the exhausted mother. She lets them all exist on the page without apology. This isn’t a victory lap or a sob story. It’s messier and more real than that.
Worth reading if you want the actual truth about what it’s like behind the anchor desk, not the glossy version.
Lin doesn’t hold back about the toll of constant travel, midnight panic attacks in hotel rooms, or falling asleep seconds before going live on air. She writes about meeting O.J. Simpson on a plane and being too exhausted to care. About covering the Loma Prieta earthquake until she lost track of days. About how the job that made her feel most alive was also killing her.
The personal story is just as raw—a complicated marriage, her husband Will’s cancer diagnosis during her pregnancy, trying to anchor the news while her life falls apart. That playground scene where she lies about being a widow because the truth makes other parents uncomfortable? That’s the kind of honesty that runs through the whole book.
What struck me most is how Lin refuses to separate her different selves—the ambitious reporter, the daughter of immigrants, the exhausted mother. She lets them all exist on the page without apology. This isn’t a victory lap or a sob story. It’s messier and more real than that.
Worth reading if you want the actual truth about what it’s like behind the anchor desk, not the glossy version.
December 9, 2025
When News Breaks is far more than a memoir; it is a self-exposé that lays bare a woman’s soul. Reading it feels like being a "fly on the wall"—or rather, a white-knuckled passenger clinging to the handle of her suitcase. Carol Lin is a frighteningly good storyteller with the ability to evoke emotion with visceral honesty.
The pages rush the reader into one intense experience after another: a face-off with a Taliban soldier, earthquakes, political intrigue... my God, this author even sat next to O.J. Simpson on a plane just a heartbeat after the White Bronco chase.
Hers was a trial-by-fire career that honed a rare instinct for story and remarkable tenacity. Carol Lin uses the metaphor of minerals and stones throughout the book to build a grounded connection to her Chinese heritage. Jade is not found smooth in nature; it requires abrasive friction to become polished.
Carol’s early life is defined by the "friction" of assimilation and proving her worth. She subjects herself to the harsh grinding of the news industry—putting herself in the path of terrorists, sexist producers, and the physical toll of incessant travel—to polish herself into something truly valuable. She lives under the microscope of her mother’s pragmatic desire for success, yet is guided by her father’s tough love to climb the ladder and chisel a crack in the glass ceiling.
Love, loss, and a truly uncommon spirit give this story wings. I only wish I had half the guts to face this world the way she did.
The pages rush the reader into one intense experience after another: a face-off with a Taliban soldier, earthquakes, political intrigue... my God, this author even sat next to O.J. Simpson on a plane just a heartbeat after the White Bronco chase.
Hers was a trial-by-fire career that honed a rare instinct for story and remarkable tenacity. Carol Lin uses the metaphor of minerals and stones throughout the book to build a grounded connection to her Chinese heritage. Jade is not found smooth in nature; it requires abrasive friction to become polished.
Carol’s early life is defined by the "friction" of assimilation and proving her worth. She subjects herself to the harsh grinding of the news industry—putting herself in the path of terrorists, sexist producers, and the physical toll of incessant travel—to polish herself into something truly valuable. She lives under the microscope of her mother’s pragmatic desire for success, yet is guided by her father’s tough love to climb the ladder and chisel a crack in the glass ceiling.
Love, loss, and a truly uncommon spirit give this story wings. I only wish I had half the guts to face this world the way she did.
December 9, 2025
Lin’s vehicle took gun fire while she was reporting from the Rodney King riots for an LA TV station. Working with CNN, she was taken to meet an important chief deep in the tribal territories between Pakistan and Afghanistan, through which Osama bin Laden was rumored to move, while a fighter clutching an automatic rifle stared at her menacingly across the vehicle.
If you don’t remember Lin, you can search YouTube for “Carol Lin CNN” for a two-minute highlights reel of her broadcast journalism. That montage gives only a glimpse but it reveals the guts and intelligence with which Lin has lived her career.
When News Breaks is the story of a woman facing obstacles and many dangers in her line of work, meeting the moment each time, and then coming through a devastating personal tragedy with grit and grace.
I couldn’t put this book down and it wore me out. Lin uses suspense and surprise well in her writing, and especially early on the narrative jumps in twists that I imagine mimic the work of high-pressure, breaking news, broadcast journalism at the top levels.
This excellent memoir is a must read for anyone interested in what goes on behind the scenes in collecting and assembling broadcast news. It is also a hopeful personal story, well worth reading for that alone, which is how I approached this wonderful memoir.
You get extra credit if you identify early on the echo with Rachel Khong’s Real Americans (2024).
If you don’t remember Lin, you can search YouTube for “Carol Lin CNN” for a two-minute highlights reel of her broadcast journalism. That montage gives only a glimpse but it reveals the guts and intelligence with which Lin has lived her career.
When News Breaks is the story of a woman facing obstacles and many dangers in her line of work, meeting the moment each time, and then coming through a devastating personal tragedy with grit and grace.
I couldn’t put this book down and it wore me out. Lin uses suspense and surprise well in her writing, and especially early on the narrative jumps in twists that I imagine mimic the work of high-pressure, breaking news, broadcast journalism at the top levels.
This excellent memoir is a must read for anyone interested in what goes on behind the scenes in collecting and assembling broadcast news. It is also a hopeful personal story, well worth reading for that alone, which is how I approached this wonderful memoir.
You get extra credit if you identify early on the echo with Rachel Khong’s Real Americans (2024).
December 10, 2025
I think this is an outstanding memoir.
I was intrigued with the behind the scenes glimpses of crafting broadcast news pieces, the early days of CNN, and working in remote locations and different countries and navigating that environment personally and professionally.
Ms. Lin writes deftly, the opening moments are captivating and grab you right away. She crafted some beautiful language. Talking about her dad "He lived for the moment, to make me screech with delight; his smile a trophy I collected on a tiny shelf at the center of my heart. But our spinning games also taught me about the pain of hard landings...."
As a Black woman, I loved how the Ms. Lin drew pictures, created moments, that spoke to me as a member of a minority. My parents didn't come directly from another country, but I related to the cultural and parental ambition that sometimes motivated her positively and how sometimes those ambitions were the thing she fought against.
Plus, there's romance, and love lost, and found. All the elements of great storytelling.
I was intrigued with the behind the scenes glimpses of crafting broadcast news pieces, the early days of CNN, and working in remote locations and different countries and navigating that environment personally and professionally.
Ms. Lin writes deftly, the opening moments are captivating and grab you right away. She crafted some beautiful language. Talking about her dad "He lived for the moment, to make me screech with delight; his smile a trophy I collected on a tiny shelf at the center of my heart. But our spinning games also taught me about the pain of hard landings...."
As a Black woman, I loved how the Ms. Lin drew pictures, created moments, that spoke to me as a member of a minority. My parents didn't come directly from another country, but I related to the cultural and parental ambition that sometimes motivated her positively and how sometimes those ambitions were the thing she fought against.
Plus, there's romance, and love lost, and found. All the elements of great storytelling.
November 23, 2025
Thank you to the publisher, Carol Lin, and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When News Breaks is a memoir that struck me on both an emotional and human level. Carol Lin writes with a quiet strength. It’s unflinching, honest, and deeply reflective as she invites readers into the moments that shaped her career and the private battles that reshaped her life.
Her account of reporting from the frontlines, while carrying the weight of grief, love, and personal upheaval, feels both breathtaking and profoundly vulnerable. There is a raw tenderness in the way she confronts loss and identity, yet her professionalism and clarity as a journalist shine through every page.
This is a memoir that lingers. It reminds us that behind every headline is a person navigating their own storms, trying to stay steady while the world keeps shifting. An incredibly compelling and quietly powerful read.
When News Breaks is a memoir that struck me on both an emotional and human level. Carol Lin writes with a quiet strength. It’s unflinching, honest, and deeply reflective as she invites readers into the moments that shaped her career and the private battles that reshaped her life.
Her account of reporting from the frontlines, while carrying the weight of grief, love, and personal upheaval, feels both breathtaking and profoundly vulnerable. There is a raw tenderness in the way she confronts loss and identity, yet her professionalism and clarity as a journalist shine through every page.
This is a memoir that lingers. It reminds us that behind every headline is a person navigating their own storms, trying to stay steady while the world keeps shifting. An incredibly compelling and quietly powerful read.
December 7, 2025
This is a terrific memoir from CNN correspondent Carol Lin. She grew up in a Chinese immigrant family, became an influential tv news correspondent, and her marriage was not perfect. But even an imperfect marriage can still be wracked with pain, as demonstrated here when her husband was diagnosed with a rare cancer during Carol’s pregnancy.
The second half of the book flew by, and I wasn’t ready for it to end. I really like the style of writing in this memoir. I was lucky enough to receive a free electronic copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review, but this is a book I can imagine buying as a holiday present. It feels honest. I don’t have higher praise.
The second half of the book flew by, and I wasn’t ready for it to end. I really like the style of writing in this memoir. I was lucky enough to receive a free electronic copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review, but this is a book I can imagine buying as a holiday present. It feels honest. I don’t have higher praise.
December 9, 2025
Carol Lin's memoir grants an insider's perspective into the news-making business. The author recounts the challenges — both thrilling and mundane — she overcame to secure her position as a national reporter and news anchor. These events unfold in tandem with Lin's personal story of being shaped by her Chinese parents, her husband's illness, her pregnancy, her parenting, and her female friendships. Lin's story is structured in vignette-like chapters that together create a deep, complex picture of a person whose success and happiness are hard-won. To read Lin's book is to be reminded of why we read memoir: to gain authentic (and entertaining!) insight into life experiences unlike our own.
December 9, 2025
When News Breaks is an absolutely gripping story—equal parts thoughtful and gritty. Lin’s honest, real reflections examine the roles ambition, expectations, culture, loss, and societal pressure play when chasing dreams, battling roadblocks, and coming into our own space. Lin’s sharp writing and compelling storyline pulled me in right from the start and didn’t let go…and I was rooting for her every step of the way! Thank you, Carol, for your courage in sharing such a powerful, inspiring story.
December 9, 2025
I picked this up because I spent a couple of years as a print journalist and always imagined the mix of horror and drama of telling stories from a war zone would be life changing, but I kept reading because the real story is one of overcoming the odds in an industry where sexism was standard fare (def. experienced that!), of travelling through and growing from grief, and of learning to see one's parents as humans with their own cultural and emotional landscape.
Finely crafted and, as you'd expect from a professional journalist, a well-structured and engrossing story.
Finely crafted and, as you'd expect from a professional journalist, a well-structured and engrossing story.
December 10, 2025
A masterful, honest, memoir that’s both timely and timeless. At times thrilling, genuinely funny, moving, and heartbreaking, Lin easily makes the jump from journalistic storytelling to personal narrative, and allows herself to be brutally human and real. Having read this ravenously on a two-flight journey, this made me cry on the plane multiple times, and I say that with no apology. It’s just that good. It’s one of those books that strikes your heart like lightning and lingers, reminding you what it means to love, hurt, grieve, and be alive.
December 8, 2025
Carol Lin’s memoir of her career as a TV journalist offered a unique insight into a difficult industry. As the book progressed, we got to know the protagonist more personally and gained more access to her reflections on her experiences. Though I wished that there was more insight and reflection in the first half of the story, overall I found this memoir compelling and look forward to reading her future work.
December 9, 2025
When News Breaks is a riveting, emotional, and raw look at Carol Lin’s journey as a daughter, wife, and mother making her way through the Journalism world. Carol Lin’s devotion to her profession in hostile and life threatening environments shows through from beginning to end. I could not put it down. When News Breaks, shows details of what it was like to report and be in the field during some of America’s trying moments. Well done.
December 9, 2025
This is a beautifully written and deeply engaging memoir from a former CNN journalist who takes you inside her experience as a wartime reporter at the top of her game to a woman navigating career, marriage and motherhood amidst some of life's most difficult trials. I was rooting for Carol throughout this heartfelt book. This would be a great book club read - have already bought and sent to several friends.
April 28, 2026
When News Breaks is a compelling memoir that draws the reader in and leaves them hooked. Carol is an amazing human who tells a story relatable for so many working women, career, family and heart ache collide in her novel. This book goes beyond the typical career driven memoir and adds the human element of the heart that goes behind those life altering decisions. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
January 22, 2026
If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to report the news, this book gives you a window into that world - but also a window into Carol Lin’s private world as well. She shares intimate moments from her life so candidly and beautifully that I felt I was there alongside her. I didn’t want to put this book down.
August 20, 2026
WHEN NEWS BREAKS had me in its grip from the first pages. Carol's retelling of stories known the world over from her front line experience as a news reporter, including 9-11, to lesser known but completely relatable stories about love, family traditions/expectations, and the challenges faced by women climbing the ranks - oh my goodness. I won’t spoil it. Just read it.
December 9, 2025
When News Breaks is a story of ambition, resilience in the face of loss, and profound courage. Inspiring and heartbreaking in turn, it serves as a reminder that we all have scars beneath our polished facades and more strength than we know. It was deeply moving and I can't recommend it enough.
December 9, 2025
Electrifying! This book pulled me in from the start with its first chapter about the Taliban encounter, and kept me engaged with the author’s personal stories about hardship in her marriage (to someone else in the news business, at a moment where it could’ve made the news) while her professional star was rising really high, but what made me gasp is the chapter about going on air from LA on the Peter Jennings show in NYC and Jennings, in what was apparently a hazing ritual, suggesting edits at the very last minute (basically giving the team half the time they would need to make the changes he required before the show would air) and the LA bureau pulling it together at the very last second, having to split the work into two teams to make the edits in time and feeding the edits live from LA instead of sending them to NY because Jennings hadn’t left them any time. I loved that the author didn’t try to sugarcoat it or make her life more appealing than it was because the bare truth makes the book stand out even more. I don’t want to give any spoilers but I read a lot of books and this one truly stands out for the best possible reasons. If you’re into honest reporting rather than hyped-up fads, this book is for you.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews