Savannah Guthrie is opening herself up to joy amid the ongoing search for her missing mom, Nancy Guthrie.
Savannah, 54, chatted with author Kate Bowler about her book Joyful, Anyway, which explores how to find happiness amid times of uncertainty and loss, during the Tuesday, April 7, episode of Today.
“This is the book that I think I certainly need, but I think everybody needs,” the host told Bowler, 45. “And when we talk about joy … let’s make a distinction here. It’s not about toxic positivity, it’s not happiness, it’s not gratitude, journaling. Joy is something different and deeper.”
Savannah later added, “Joy is something that can coincide with sadness.”
The interview was featured on Savannah’s second day back at Today since her 84-year-old mother was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1. The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department believe that Nancy was abducted from her home in the early hours of the morning. DNA evidence and surveillance footage were recovered from the scene.
Savannah returned to Today on Monday, April 6, after two months away from the morning show. She wore a yellow dress, a color that has taken on significant meaning amid the search for Nancy, while her cohost Craig Melvin sported a yellow tie and a matching ribbon as a show of support.
“Good morning, welcome to Today on this Monday morning. We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home,” Savannah told viewers upon her return.
Melvin, 46, told Savannah that it was “so good to have [her] back.”
Days before her return, Savannah sat down for an interview with Hoda Kotb, who filled in for the TV personality while she was at home with her family in Arizona.
“God is how I’m holding hands with my mom, and I won’t let sadness win, for her,” Savannah told Kotb, 61, during the interview, which aired in multiple parts on March 26 and March 27. “She taught me, I saw her grieve. I saw her world shatter. I saw it and I saw her get up. And I saw her believe. And I saw her love. And I saw her hope, and I saw her smile, and I saw her laugh. I saw her joy. I saw her love for the world and adventure. I saw her belief, I saw her faith.”
Savannah also vowed that she would “not fall apart” as questions remain about Nancy’s whereabouts.
“They will not take our faith, but our anguish is real. We need help. We need someone to tell the truth,” she continued. “I have no anger in my heart. I have hope in my heart. I have love, but this family needs peace. I don’t think we deserve anything more or less than any other person.”
Savannah further explained her decision to return to Today.
“When I look at the Today show, it’s the answer to all of my dreams, actually better than my dreams,” she shared. “It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness. I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family. I think it’s part of my purpose right now. I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer. And being there is joyful. And when it’s not, I’ll say so.”
