Cokie: A Life Well Lived – A Loving Tribute to a Legendary Journalist, Historian, and Trailblazer for Women

by Steven V. Roberts

The extraordinary life and legacy of legendary journalist Cokie Roberts—a trailblazer for women—remembered by her friends and family. Through her visibility and celebrity, Cokie Roberts was an inspiration and a role model for innumerable women and girls. A fixture on national television and radio for more than 40 years, she also wrote five bestselling books focusing on the role of women in American history . She was portrayed on  Saturday Night Live , name checked on the  West Wing , and featured on magazine covers. She joked with Jay Leno, balanced a pencil on her nose for David Letterman, and was the answer to numerous crossword puzzle clues. Many dogs, and at least one dairy cow, were named for her. When the legendary 1980s  Spy Magazine  ran a diagram documenting all her connections with the headline “Cokie Roberts – Moderately Well-Known Broadcast Journalist or Center of the Universe?” they were only half-joking. Cokie had many roles in her Daughter. Wife. Mother. Journalist. Advocate. Historian. Reflecting on her life, those closest to her remember her impressive mind, impish wit, infectious laugh, and the tenacity that sent her career skyrocketing through glass ceilings at NPR and ABC. They marvel at how she often put others before herself and cared deeply about the world around her. When faced with daily decisions and dilemmas, many still ask themselves the question, ‘What Would Cokie Do?’ In this loving tribute, Cokie’s husband of 53 years and bestselling-coauthor Steve Roberts reflects not only on her many accomplishments, but on how she lived each day with a devotion to helping others. For Steve, Cokie’s private life was as significant and inspirational as her public one. Her commitment to celebrating and supporting other women was evident in everything she did, and her generosity and passion drove her personal and professional endeavors. In  Cokie,  he has a simple “To tell stories. Some will make you cheer or laugh or cry. And some, I hope, will inspire you to be more like Cokie, to be a good person, to lead a good life.”

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Audiobook, Politics, Journalism

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2021

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cokie: A Life Well-Lived by Steven V. Roberts is a 2021 Harper publication.

This book is an homage to the journalist Cokie Roberts, written by her husband, Steven. It’s not a biography in the strictest sense of the word. It’s a remembrance of various areas of Cokie’s life- her marriage, motherhood, career, friendships and her faith and talent for storytelling.

This book feels like a labor of love- perhaps even a way of sharing the big parts of Cokie’s life that will help keep her memory alive in our hearts and minds, as it must for the author.

After reading this sweet biography of the warm, funny and highly accomplished Cokie Roberts, I don’t think there could have been a more apt title for this book. Cokie is a person I know I would have liked immensely, if I’d ever gotten the chance to get to know her. I didn’t always agree with her opinions- but I think we were on the same page about most things.

This book is certainly a celebration of Cokie’s life and all that she meant to her family, her friends and her colleagues, and though occasionally the mood became somber or melancholy, there were times I could almost feel Cokie’s spirit flowing through the author’s prose.


Cokie was a trailblazer, a fierce and determined friend, mother, wife and grandmother and I enjoyed reading Steven’s many fond reminiscences of her life.

4 stars

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cokie Roberts' husband, Steven Roberts, does an amazing job as an author and a narrator with the audiobook, Cokie: A Life Well Lived. Cokie and Steven came from very different religious backgrounds and many people warned them that they shouldn't get married.....they were married over 50 years before Cokie passed away from breast cancer.

Steven shares that the most important decision in a person's life is who they choose to marry. I agree 100%! Cokie's parents, Hale and Lindy Boggs, both served in the House of Representatives. Cokie's mother gave Cokie very sage advice to get rid of the guilt as a mother....Cokie called her mother the guilt remover....and Cokie passed on that same great advice to career women who asked her about work/life balance.

Cokie was a huge advocate for women and she spent her life helping others. She was a "badass without being a bitch."

Steven referred to Cokie's other books which I have added to my TBR: Founding Mothers, Capital Dames: the Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868, and Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation. I have already started listening to the audiobook. We Are Our Mothers' Daughters on audiobook and it's narrated by Cokie.

[Holly R W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steve Roberts wrote the book as a tribute to his wife Cokie Roberts - a journalist/author/commentator that I've much admired through the years. Despite her many jobs, I'll always remember Cokie best as a reporter for National Public Radio. Her commentary was intelligent, perceptive and clear. She pulled no punches.

Cokie was raised in a political family. Her father had been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the House Whip. When he died in the middle of his term, Cokie's mother stepped up and served in his place. With such parents, Cokie became quite familiar with politics and was at ease with interviewing powerful figures.

Cokie's Catholicism was most important to her and yet, she fell in love with Steve Roberts, a Jewish man. How they worked out their religious differences is highlighted in the memoir. Years ago, I read about and was impressed with a Passover Haggadah that Cokie had composed for her family and friends, incorporating what she found meaningful for the holiday. It included her own traditions as well as Jewish ones. She loved hosting Passover seders for family and friends, which kept getting bigger throughout the years.

Roberts' love for his wife, now deceased, pours through touching every page of the book. He highlights how many people Cokie touched throughout her lifetime. I am one of them.

3.5 stars

9-20-22 Update: I just finished reading Nina Totenberg's memoir about friendship - Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir of Friendship. She and Cokie were good friends. She shares the following memories of Cokie.

* When Nina T.'s first husband was terminally ill in ICU, Cokie would visit him and hold his hand.

* When Nina married her second husband, Cokie and Linda Wertheim (a mutual friend from NPR) insisted that Nina HAD to be married under a chuppah (a wedding canopy) - a Jewish tradition that Nina had decided to overlook. Both women made one for Nina, using silky brocade. Despite their good intentions, the chuppah kept threatening to cave in upon Nina and her groom during the wedding ceremony.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalist Steve Roberts has published a robust, funny, and sweet biography of his late wife, Cokie Roberts who was also a journalist as well as a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a daughter, an author, a TV news host, and I can't remember what all. She comes across as a person I would've liked to have known or met. She had a great sense of humor and was a sturdy champion for women's rights and causes. Their interfaith marriage endured for 53 years. If we all could be so lucky, eh? Of course, she had her faults and flaws. Who doesn't? But on the balance, she was a good person and a better friend. She had tons of energy and felt compassion for others in pain. She also suffered her own personal losses, including her father Hale Bogg's disappearance in a plane crash somewhere off Alaska and her older sister Barbara's death from cancer. The book moves fast and includes photos.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the beginning I would have given this book at least four stars. But I was getting tired of it after half of it and stopped reading it with relief a bit after three quarters or four fifths of it. It is a wonder tribute to a great woman but after a while she seems almost inhuman in her perfection, and it gets to be too much. It is a true labor of love, with stories solicited and organized and pulled together by her husband.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cokie: A Life Well Lived is a biography of Cokie Roberts, an American journalist and author. It is an adoring look at the trailblazing journalist who relentlessly promoted the women around her in a male-dominated field. Steven V. Roberts, an American journalist, writer, political commentator, and her husband, wrote this biography.

Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, and ABC News, with prominent positions on Morning Edition, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, World News Tonight, and This Week.

Roberts offers a moving testimony of the remarkable life and legacy of his wife, trailblazing journalist Cokie. It is through the depictions of her faith, family, work, writing, and friendships, Roberts shares engrossing anecdotes about her from their over fifty years together.

As the daughter of powerful Louisiana politicians, politics and current events were a second language for Cokie as she grew up. She later parlayed that fluency into a career as a highly respected journalist who covered Washington, D.C., for NPR and ABC and was unafraid to speak truth to power and ask tough questions.

In addition to the early challenges they encountered dating as an interfaith couple. Roberts describes with admiration how, notwithstanding the constant demands and stresses of work, Cokie managed to be a devoted friend in times of need, as well as an attentive wife and mother, and bestselling author of histories that restored significant women to their merited prominence in the U.S.'s founding.

Cokie: A Life Well Lived is written moderately well. The book is essentially a one-dimensional portrait, larded with quotes by friends and colleagues, very few of whom detract from the elegiac narrative, but it doesn't cloud the luster of Cokie's many accomplishments.

All in all, Cokie: A Life Well Lived is an upbeat portrait of a productive life that was so important to journalists and women everywhere.

[Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nepoznala som Cokie Boggs a neskôr Cokie Roberts, na knihu som natrafila náhodou na letisku. Keď som si všimla, že ju Barack Obama, GW Bush a podobní na zadnom obale knihy označujú za matku žurnalistiky, ďalej som neváhala. A dobre som spravila. Cokie bola, ako sa vraví, “trailblazer” - ukázala cestu inym ženám v televíznej a rozhlasovej žurnalistike, a bola prvou ženskou komentátorkou nedeľnej politickej talkshow na ABC. S žurnalistikou pritom začala pomerne neskoro, a ako sama vraví, náhodou, po narodeni jej dvoch detí, kedy, ako píše, nevedela byť len na materskej, a potrebovala pracovnú náplň. Inšpiroval ju iste aj muž, novinár, ktorého potom relatívne rýchlo profesne prerástla. No napriek tomu mali krásny a vyrovnaný vzťah, čoho svedkom je aj táto kniha o Cokie - napísal ju jej manžel po jej smrti. Áno, je to cítiť - je to ozaj obdivný epos, ale zas, z pera manžela to hádam kritická biografia ani byť nemohla, ani byť nemala. Cokie bola novinarka, manželka, autorka niekoľkých kníh, aktivistka a najmä - matka. Veľmi pekne hovorí o skĺbení materstva a profesionálneho života žien, a prízvukuje to, co podľa mna prízvukovať treba. Že viac ako sťažovať sa je potrebné hľadať možno aj netypické riešenia, nebičovať sa ako matka, ale tráviť čas, ktorý s deťmi mame, i keď je ho menej ako by možno spoločenské konvencie a očakávania diktovali, čo najkvalitnejšie. Lebo - ako Cokie vraví- deti si nebudú pamätať počet hodín, ale ich náplň. Za mňa, výborné a pútavé čítanie.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author and journalist Steven Roberts had the good fortune to earn and keep the love of Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts. In his book: Cokie, A life Well Lived he honors the memory of his wife of over 50 years. Ms. Roberts was many things, she would list mother, grandmother and great friend as her highest accomplishments, and in the next breath add in feminist, among America’s first female broadcast women, early author of America’s female history , social activist, promoter of individual deserving women as well as a women as a righteous cause, and being not that shy she would list several more. All would be backed by a stunning amount of proof. The resulting book is a positive inspiration for girls and a positive learning experience for boys and a day brightening read for anyone needing uplift in their lives.

Were I to do a complete reveal of my links to Cokie Roberts, it would read more like name dropping and promotion of my self-importance. Skipping the details, I had met the late Ms Roberts, perhaps once, and have reasons to be grateful to her congressman father and congresswoman mother. There is no reason to believe that, were any of them still alive they would remember me, and as a tease it might be better if they did not.

At National Public Radio I remember that they had several female reporters, Cokie Roberts, Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer and Nina Totenberg. At the time my thought was that of course NPR would have female reporters. It was my usual response to stop what I was doing to listen to what they had to say. All seemed to me to be smart, insightful and reliable. That any of them had to break glass ceilings or face down the patrimony never occurred to me. In fact, all had to work together forming what they called the Uterine Jungle. Cokie was not the first into the NPR UJ, but in making her way as a journalist she was often the first female hire and too often the only female in the room. She lived the life of- of having to be better to be thought as good.

Once she left NPR, continuing her professional advancement, I rather lost track of her. To this day I prefer to get my broadcast news from Public Radio.

Given that this is and is intended to be a feel-good, pro women book written by a loving husband and again honoring a beloved and accomplished wife, I will minimize my criticism. In several occasions Steven Roberts may not be hearing himself. At one point he relates the all-too-common problem of employer excuses for not hiring women. One being that they too often left a job because they were pregnant. We now have laws about that silliness. Barely two sentences later he reports that Cokie left a job because she was…, well, she did not like the job anyway. Still an odd juxtaposition. Later he will quote his wife as needing her work as her only “alone time” and later again quoting her as liking to travel because being on a plane was her only “alone time”. Which is it?

It is also possible to argue that in emphasizing Cokie as a woman who had it all, and did it all, Roberts over promotes that as a minimum standard for women. What a woman can or should achieve should be limited only by their individual merit. Over selling having it all can be an inspiration or that much more unfair pressure.

Cokie, A life Well Lived is and is intended to be a positive example and a loving tribute. And that, as another reported used to say, is the way it is.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful, insightful and inspiring book about a woman journalist, mother, wife and advocate for women. A must read!

[Debbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tribute by a husband very much in love. What an incredible woman who led a remarkable, accomplished and faith filled life. Many know her public life but what I enjoyed the most were the private Cokie, shared by so many. Her acknowledgment and gratefulness of the women (nuns) of her church and their role in teaching and encouraging young women is very similar to my own feelings.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a lovely tribute to a political and journalism titan, I found this to be essentially an extended eulogy. I loved the stories of life in Washington and Roberts’ incredible political pedigree. Cokie Roberts was a special woman, accomplishing a great deal in her career. I found that her husband spent a lot of time defending her choices as a mother and their interfaith marriage. It became a bit repetitive and tedious.

[Angie Boyter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I beautiful and heartwarming love song by Steve Roberts to his amazing wife. It is an especially good book to read when you are a bit down.
It failed to hit a 5 rating , though, because so much of it is a variation on a theme, and it began to get a bit repetitious.

[Kathleen Nalley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer husband’s tribute to his wife was really a wonderful exercise for his grieving and for the end result - a terrific book. I was given a lovely glimpse into why this woman I so admired will continue to influence- her faith, so similar to my core set of beliefs. Loved this biography!

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Like a Eulogy

The book is more like a eulogy at a funeral than what I expected, a biography. I think I would be more comfortable with a biography.

[Cheryl Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was always an admirer of Cokie Roberts especially when I saw her standing up to the men of journalism. She was so intelligent and witty and she never let herself be taken lightly. Until reading this book, I hadn't really known much about her personal life other than she was the daughter Congressman Hale Boggs and Congresswoman Lindy Boggs, who was also the US Ambassador to the Holy See or Vatican. I learned through reading this book, her deep faith in Catholism which even though I am Protestant mirrors my own faith in God. I didn't know that she had an interfaith marriage that both her husband and her worked very hard at to make it work. I didn't know that she loved history like I do and I really wish I had a chance to meet her. This book by her husband, Steve Roberts, explores the facets of Cokie's life that made her Cokie. I highly recommend it!

[BethFishReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well done tribute / biography written by Steven Roberts, the husband of NPR star, journalist, and historian Cokie Roberts.

The book is set up not in chronological order but by topic, and thus we see many sides of Cokie--as a mentor, a friend, a mother, a reporter, a wife. We learn about her spiritual and ethical/moral beliefs and about her great sense of humor and kindness.

Rather than a series of facts and figures, Steven talks about Cokie through stories. The book is (as I wrote for my AudioFile magazine review) the perfect balance between well-written biography and loving tribute.

Cokie led an honorable life, demonstrating that personal success is enhanced not only by working hard and standing up for oneself but also by maintaining a sense of humor and always helping others.

[Gloria Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Cokie Roberts was written by her husband Steven V Roberts. A fixture on national television and radio for more than forty years, Cokie had many roles in her lifetime: Daughter. Wife. Mother. Journalist. Advocate. Historian. Reflecting on her life in these pages, those closest to her remember her impressive mind, impish wit, infectious laugh, and the tenacity that send her career skyrocketing through glass ceilings at NPR and ABC. They marvel at how often she put others before herself and cared deeply about the world around her. When faced with daily decisions and dilemmas, many still ask themselves the question "What would Cokie do?"

[Gail Sawrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admired Cokie Roberts as a reporter on NPR and on television for years and was saddened when she passed away following a long battle with cancer. Steven Roberts, her husband, has written a powerful remembrance of her, compiling stories from numerous sources--family, friends, colleagues, organizations for which she advocated, and from personal experience. While I already considered Cokie an inspiration as a fair and knowledgeable reporter, this book gave me insights as to what made her the great woman she was and challenged me to consider the legacy I leave behind.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do recognize that a husband of more than 50 years who writes about his late wife, might be biased. So, evidently are her ocean of friends. This book made me feel that Cokie Roberts should be considered for sainthood.
She had her foibles, acknowledged by her husband, but she came across as a team player, considerate of her fellow (wo)man, and truly in love with her family.
I just love Cokie all the more after reading this book.

[Lucifer "Argyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea who Cokie was when I started reading it. I just had this gentleman in my po box section ask me if I wanted to read it and I said "sure, why not." Well let me tell you what, I went into this knowing nothing about Cokie and I came out of it feeling nothing but love and admiration for Cokie. She seems like she was such a sweet woman and everyone the world was a better place with her in it.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never knew that Cokie Roberts was on TV with a regular program. I'd seen her on a few news shows, but didn't know the extent of her career in television. I knew her from NPR and one of the founding mothers of NPR. What a great person and a true person of character. I remember her speaking out agains trump in 2016 and loved her all the more. The main focus of this book by her husband is just what a great all around person she was. I still miss her on NPR.

[Jody Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. She was an amazing women and was it fascinating to read about the woman behind the voice on NPR. It was wonderful to learn about her faith and how it impacted her life, her decisions and her job choices. It was fun to read about famous people she interacted with and the reader knows from the news and TV. You learned another side of people from the news.

[Suzanne Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book by her husband, Steven V. Roberts. He captured the essence of Cokie's life and the precious individual she was. For me, it was worth reading. I suggest it to others to read.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So enjoyed learning a little more about Cokie's life and how she learned to be such a strong woman. Very inspiring to all women who would not have guessed that someone who grew up in the south and came from such a politically involved family would have such an all encompassing passion for women from all walks of life, all political and religious backgrounds and work hard for women's rights around the world.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book about Cokie Roberts reads like a long beautiful eulogy. The best eulogies are the ones that tell personal stories - ones that only the person's closest inner circle would know. I always wished I had met Cokie and now I have thanks to the story told by her husband Steven Roberts.

The book's chapters are all the chapters of Cokie's life as a wife, mother, journalist, friend, and Catholic. Her belief in the capability of women and her devotion to her mother stand out as a humbling example of the power we have to pave the way for others and to create legacy.

[Arlene Weible · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably would have been better to read a biography, rather than a memoir by her husband, to get the full story about Cokie. That said, I'm sure she was a wonderful woman and it was a pleasure to read about a genuinely good person.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook narration by Cokie’s husband. It was sweet, heartwarming, and sad all in the same. What a fascinating woman.

[Evelyn Petschek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so admired Cokie, loved her on-air commentary, loved all the books she authored. So I enjoyed this window on her life, accomplishments and persona through the eyes of her husband.

[Scott Beddingfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book. Part memoir, tribute, history lessons and self-help book all rolled into one. Perhaps the best tribute I can offer is that it left me with a mantra I’ll repeat often, “What would Color do?”.

[Jennifer S Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this story. It is about Cokie, a real person, but so accessible, relatable, yet falible & inspiring. This is a true love note from her husband. What a mench!