Rough Draft: A Memoir by Katy Tur

Rough Draft: A Memoir Reviews

• 
  Christine

  Being a semi-junkie of MSNBC, I jumped at the chance for an ARC of Katy Tur’s memoir Rough Draft. This is actually Katy’s 2nd memoir, the first being Unbelievable, her account of her year-long coverage of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. The fact that she survived that mission and all the insults hurled at her by Trump gave me great respect for Katy and put her on my radar.
  
  Having written two memoirs by the age of 38 led Katy to promise no more memoirs this decade. Darn. That’s too bad as these books are very different, very good (at least in the case of Rough Draft, I have not read Unbelievable), and complementary. Rough Draft is about Katy, her family, and her career. I was riveted from the first chapter on. Katy’s life is fascinating, and she lays it all out for us, blemishes and all. Her home life was exciting, loving, and abusive. Her career as a journalist has been challenging. She is married to another well know journalist and has two children and 2 step-children. She hasn’t seen her helicopter journalist father, Bob Tur, now Zoey Tur, for 10 years though they love each other. Her future is uncertain. After all, so far it’s all been a “rough draft.” Everything is still in progress.
  
  Katy knows how to tell a story and how to write. I have not read her first book, Unbelievable, as I haven’t been keen on using my pleasure time to dwell over the antics of The Former Guy. But as long as Katy is with me, I think I would enjoy it and now have it on my TBR.
  
  I really admire Katy for being truthful and for not being afraid to share even her most personal moments. After all, truth matters, right? I would love to read a third Katy memoir written about 20 years from now to see how her story has further unfolded. Thanks, Katy, for giving us the inside look. I’m a big fan now and will try to catch more of your shows. I have such respect for you and know I will be getting the real facts.
  
  I’d like to thank Net Galley, Atria Publishing (via Alaina Mauro) and Ms. Katy Tur for an advanced review copy of Rough Draft. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
• 
  Melki

  Because I enjoyed Tur's first book,
  Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History, which detailed her 500+ days spent following the Trump campaign, I was happy to be granted an ARC of her newest book.
  
  Much has changed since Tur first covered the 2016 campaign, including her marriage to Tony Dokoupil, and the arrival of their two children.
  
  Most of the book, however, is taken up with Tur's recollections of growing up with a violent and abusive father. Her parents founded the Los Angeles News Service, a groundbreaking company that covered the news with footage gathered during often daring helicopter flights. They are most famous for filming O.J. Simpson's slow-motion Bronco escapade, and the horrifying moments when Reginald Denny was pulled from his truck and beaten senseless during the L.A. riots. But there was a dark side to their fame . . . her father's explosive temper left her mother, and later Katy and her brother, reeling.
  
  Tur also details her dad's more recent, rather tumultuous transitioning into a woman, the fallout over which has left father and daughter barely speaking.
  
  The one plus side over dealing with a parent graced with both a big ego, and shoot from the hip attitude? It left Tur better able to handle another famous narcissist, and led to my favorite line from the book:
  
  "My father is not Donald Trump and Donald Trump is not my father. But if anyone asked me, I'd recommend the same therapist."
  
  In all, an interesting look at journalism, motherhood, and the state of the world today.
  
  
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this.
  
  
• 
  Erin

  4.5 Stars!
  
  Back when I had cable, I was an avid MSNBC watcher. If you been my friend here on Goodreads for awhile then you know who some of my favorites are:
  
  Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Lawrence O'DONNELL to name a few.
  
  Also on that list is Katy Tur. Ive loved her since her days of battling Trump during the 2016 campaign...although is it a battle if only Trump is in the war?
  
  I didn't read her first book Unbelievable because I just wasn't really in the headspace to read about Trump, but I do plan to eventually read it. I was happy to find out that this book was a memoir about her life and only touched on Trump in bits and pieces.
  
  Katy Tur has had a wild life. Her parents were helicopter journalists who shot some iconic videos. Including the OJ Simpson slow speed chase and the beating of Reginald Denny during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Her father who transitioned in 2013 was also a very angry and abusive husband and father. Katy details her estrangement from her father and her father's continued emotional abuse, Including calling Katy transphobic anytime they have a disagreement. We also hear about her early days as a young journalists and being told by her boss that her hair was too long and her breast were too big to cover serious news.
  
  In Rough Draft Katy writes about her trouble balancing motherhood and her career, meeting her hot as fuck husband and her fears that her 2 children are going to grew up in a far worse world than she did.
  
  If you've ever watched Katy Tur's show than you can hear her voice as you read this book. I read it physically but I felt like she was reading it to me. I enjoyed this book but it I did wish it had been longer, which I guess is a sign of a great read!
  
  If love MSNBC, than read this book.
  
  If you love true stories about dysfunctional families, than read this book.
  
  I highly recommend this book!
• 
  Jeanette (Ms. Feisty)

  
  3.5 stars
  
  Her story of her childhood and family was fascinating and so well told.
  This would have been a good solid four, maybe even five stars if she hadn't ruined the second half of the book by letting Mango Mussolini take up so much space. She already wrote an entire book about him. We didn't need another.
• 
  Andrea

  It is an interesting experience to read the memoir of someone you know nothing about. However, when an invitation to read this one landed in my inbox, I was intrigued. Y'all, I'm so glad I checked this one out, and I now want to know even more about the author! The story focuses on the author's reflections on a life in journalism. This starts with her parents who captured some of the most memorable news stories of the twentieth century through helicopter reporting. The story then goes into her own beginnings and journey through the news industry from local news to international work to her days following the T***p campaign to being an anchor. Throughout, she is candid and honest about the struggles she encounters as well as the lessons she learns. The story isn't just about her as a professional, but also a person. In particular, she talks about the abuse in her childhood from her father, as well as her father's transition to a woman. In these reflections, she reflects on the emotions and lasting feelings of the experiences. I appreciated that this was truly the author's memoir in that she talked about herself as a professional, but also the human she is. Again, as someone who knew nothing going in, I felt I truly got a window into this woman. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this upcoming June 2022 release!
• 
  Nancy

  Kay Tur’s first book about following Trump’s campaign trail was a best seller. I will have to read it! Because her second memoir Rough Draft, about her family and starting her career in journalism, was a delight to read. I was surprised by how open and natural Tur comes across, whether talking about the rift between he and her father or life after a C-section.
  
  Tur’s parents were self-made journalists famous for filming a fleeing O. J. Simpson from their helicopter. They often brought Tur with them, so she grew up rather nonplussed about dangerous situations. She discovered that journalism was in her blood, and she thrived on the seat-of-your-pants life of a traveling international reporter who lived out of a suitcase…Until she met her husband and gave birth. She was committed to her career, but discovered that “motherhood had given me an extra length of emotional nerve endings. I reacted to details in a new more visceral way.”
  
  Tur’s father’s violent episodes destroyed his marriage and alienated Tur. After her father transitioned and became a woman she still had anger issues, unable to admit or apologize for her past behavior.
  
  I appreciate Tur’s integrity. When people pressured Tur about “doing more” to get Trump out of office, she replied, “That’s not my job, I���m not on your team. I’m on the side of the facts.” The news should “make you uncomfortable,” she writes, and insists that her role is to “gather for an otherwise sprawling country a common set of facts. What to do with those facts is the stuff of politics and debate.”
  
  This is an easy to read, interesting memoir.
  
  I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
• 
  Will

  3.5, rounded down
• 
  Anne OK

  Katy Tur is currently a correspondent for NBC News and an anchor for MSNBC. She is married to Tony Dokoupil, a co-anchor on CBS Mornings. They live in New York City and are the parents of two young children.
  
  Tur’s first book “Unbelievable” focused on her job as a journalist covering the 2016 Presidential election. In her second, she gets real as she shares a more intimate look into her personal life and career that piqued my curiosity immediately. I’ve watched Tur since she came on the scene at the beginning of the infamous three-ring circus a/k/a the Trump Campaign.
  
  Under forty, this girl has had one wild ride and made a name for herself in the world of journalism. I was simply stunned to learn some of the more personal and surprising revelations surrounding her upbringing. I had no idea who her parents were or anything about her turbulent childhood and teen years or her relationship with her parents then and now. Because she’s mentioned him from time to time on television, I did know she has a younger brother who is a doctor. Her personal revelations are well-written, compelling, shocking and even snarky with the dry sense of humor often seen in her news reports.
  
  I love how open and happy she always is when mentioning her husband and her kiddos. Her eyes sparkle and she makes no secret of the fact that they are the real and true center of her world these days.
  
  Kudos to Katy Tur on her revealing and fascinating memoir.
• 
  Tina

  This is a great memoir! If you like workplace stories or complicated families, I think you'll like this. I recommend the audio.
  
  For more book talk, check out the podcast I co-host, Book Talk, etc. New episodes every Tuesday!
  https://www.booktalketcpodcast.com/
• 
  Alissa Lever

  This is an excellent memoir that covers a surprising number of issues in a concise and insightful way. I got a lot of exasperated expressions from my partner while reading this because of my intermittent gasps, laughter, snorts and hums of interest or agreement.
  I’d love to know how her father responded to the memoir!
  Also side note: I am yet to hear a story of child birth that is anything other than horrifying and disappointing. We need to do better for our new mothers.
• 
  Jeremy Anderberg

  Journalism is often called “the rough draft of history.” For NBC journalist Katy Tur, that phrase has become almost an edict, compelling her to report on and record not only world events, but personal memories as well.
  
  I really enjoyed Tur’s first memoir, Unbelievable, which chronicled her experience as a reporter on Donald Trump’s memorably insane 2016 campaign and election. (You can read that review here, as well as my interview with Katy.)
  
  So of course when Katy asked me to read her new book, I jumped at the chance.
  
  Here in her second memoir, Tur tells the story of her unusual and often-turbulent upbringing, her father’s well-publicized transition into being a woman, and what life has been like as a journalist — as well as a new wife and mom — in the last five years.
  
  Tur grew up with famous journalists for parents: Bob Tur and Marika Gerrard pioneered live helicopter coverage of breaking news. Their chronicling of the ‘92 Los Angeles riots and the OJ Simpson car chase won them fame and fortune. But, as is so often the case, that didn’t translate to happiness or stability at home.
  
  Then, just when Katy’s career was starting to take off, Bob told her that he was actually a she. Katy was supportive, but that didn’t erase the abuse of the past. The exploration of this relationship was especially interesting and nuanced.
  
  The final chunk of the book talks about life after Unbelievable was published — how journalism has changed, the difficulties of being an ambitious working mom, and the tenuous future of our fragile nation.
  
  Rough Draft is delightfully honest, easy to read, and surprisingly funny; Tur’s writing style is earnest, but never overly serious. It’s an easy one for me to recommend to just about anyone.
• 
  Jenny Garwood

  I love watching Katy Tur on MSNBC. This book was very hard for me to get into…..I was disappointed.
• 
  Jim

  Review to follow,
• 
  Jill Meyer

  MSNBC news anchor, Katy Tur, has written a memoir, “Rough Draft” about her life and career. As Tur is under 40, you might not think she has enough to write about, but she does. She really, really does.
  
  Tur is kind of a wonderkind, growing up, literally, in the news. Her parents, a weirdly matched couple, were originators in Los Angeles of the reporters-by-flight. They worked together, covering stories in the 1990’s by helicopter. Tur’s father flew the helicopter and reported the stories as Tur’s mother filmed by leaning out the door. They covered the slo-mo OJ Simpson car chase, for instance. Katy and her brother experienced the news gathering and broadcast business first hand, which may explain why her brother became a doctor.
  
  But things were not so happy on the home front. Bob Tur was a wife and child beater who could erupt in anger at the slightest provocation. He couldn’t explain his anger, but eventually attributed it to gender confusion. Bob Tur became Zoey Tur. Much of Katy’s book centers on her father and their changing relationship. Her parents divorced when Katy graduated college.
  
  Tur also explores her life in the news biz. By having helped her parents, she knew her way around as an editor and broadcaster. Those skills were valued by the news organizations who hired her. Her book is a well-written look at both her public and private lives.
  
  I can compare Tur’s memoir with Katie Couric’s. Couric’s is sometimes mean-spirited, which Tur’s isn’t. Maybe because Katie Couric has been in the world and the news business for a lot longer that Katy Tur has, she has more hostility built up? I don’t know but I will say I enjoyed both books.
• 
  Martin

  A 4.5 star memoir by journalist Katy Tur of MSNBC/NBC fame. I read her first book "Unbelievable" which is an excellent account of her days covering Trump's campaign and election in 2016. Even though I thought I knew all I needed to know about that year (and didn't feel like reliving it) Katy's account had new information and plenty of additional insight. So I was happy to pick up "Rough Draft" which is a totally different kind of book, it's not about the news although the stories she covers and the news business itself are part of the subplot, but it's really memoir about her life (thus far) growing up with famous parents (who I hadn't heard of by name but certainly knew of their work as pioneering helicopter news videographers.) Her Dad was abusive and as if that wasn't enough to deal with, he transitions to a woman and expects to be forgiven for past transgressions as a new person. Katy is brutally honest about her feelings and shows her candid self, warts and all (though there aren't really many warts.) Since I watch her on TV fairly regularly and see her husband Tony Dokoupil (who plays a fairly big role in this memoir) every weekday morning for 18 minutes (I only watch the A block for the hard news segment leading up to my local weather) I felt like I knew them both but enjoyed being allowed to see their struggles and triumphs together, so that I admire them both even more. Katy is an excellent writer so much so that it truly feels like she's having a conversation with you. I think if you like her work this book is a must read and even if you've never heard of her, you will enjoy this memoir.
• 
  Catherine Baker

  Katy Tur’s second memoir is as interesting as her first— with a little overlap. She has a story to tell and it’s a good one. Combining her passion for journalism, her childhood and her current family life make for an pleasant afternoon of reading.
• 
  Margie

  3.5 Stars
  I listened to the audio, read by the author.
  
  The author’s childhood was as magical as it was horrible. Her mother and father were high profile people, but seems her father was dealing with issues from his childhood and somewhat violent towards his wife and children (according to the author).
  
  I lived in Southern California when the authors mom and dad did helicopter reporting on the OJ Simpson chase and the riots after the Rodney King trial. The subject matter was horrific, but I couldn’t turn the TV off of the images they were televising.
  
  The author was determined not to be a reporter/journalist when she grew up but it was in her blood.
  
  The author goes through the divorce of her parents, her father’s transition from man to woman, and the elections of 2016 and 2020.
  
  She does a good job of bashing Trump supporters.
  
  She also does a good job of bashing Walter Cronkite.
  
  
• 
  Maggie Patel

  I enjoyed this book. I didn't know much about Katy Tur before this book and found her childhood interesting. I liked learning about her relationship with her dad and how it impacted her career and how she parents. I also felt like her dad and Donald Trump are both similar types of narcissists.
• 
  Sierra Hoeger

  Katy Tur has been a favorite of mine ever since I read her first bestselling novel, Unbelievable, where she recounts her experience as a correspondent for NBC covering former President Trump’s journey from announcing his candidacy to his inauguration.
  
  While that novel seemed to be strictly business as she delved deep into the nitty gritty of journalism and taught everyone a good lesson on ethics, this novel takes a different shape.
  
  Titled “Rough Draft” because it follows the theme that our lives are one big rough draft, Katy opens up about her parents complicated work life balance when she was younger, often choosing work over her and her brother. We see Katy at her most vulnerable- giving birth, finding out her father is transitioning into a woman and when she finally realizes her husband is “the one.”
  
  All of these personal stories play out behind a backdrop of her daily life as a journalist. My favorite quotes from the novel are:
  
  1) “The rumblings of the rest of your life always seem to start without you knowing it.”
  
  2) “With all my defenses down, the little girl in me, I guess, still wanted my dads official reassurance and confident declaration that ‘everything is going to be just fine.’”
• 
  Janilyn Kocher

  Tur opens up about her chaotic childhood, being the daughter of helicopter paparazzi parents. I give her credit for revealing private things about her life and her parents.
  I have very little respect for any type of media today and reading the voyeur tactics of her parents didn’t help any.
  I appreciate her ability To share her story.
  Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the early read.
• 
  Mary

  Rough Draft describes Katy Tur's strange upbringing, her unresolved feelings about her transgender father, and the difficulties of combining motherhood and journalism. Yet, however heartfelt and well-meaning she was in writing her memoir, I often felt that she provided more information than I wanted to know or, for the sake of the other individuals involved, more than she should publicly share.
• 
  Susan

  Interesting memoir! Katy is a journalist, and I admired her candidness concerning former President Trump.
  I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author; she performed an excellent narration.
• 
  Beth Hommes

  Katy Tur has written an engaging memoir about her early life as well as her career as a journalist. Her parents were helicopter journalists in LosAngeles beginning before she was born. Their family life was a mixture of privilege and abuse. Her dad later transitioned from Bob Tur to Zoey Tur. Her relationship with her dad is still tenuous and volatile. Katy went on to work for The Weather Channel, a European news desk for NBC and several other positions leading up to her present anchoring job at MSNBC. She is perhaps most famous for her coverage of the 2016 Trump campaign. She captures many of these moments in great detail. She makes clear that reporting news is not always glamorous. I.had a few quibbles with this book. Though a reporter, her political bias was always clear. Finally I found her bashing of a famous newsman petty and adding nothing to her story. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.
• 
  Valerie

  A fascinating follow-up memoir to Katy Tur's first book, Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History, about her time on the Trump campaign trail. This book starts with her tumultuous childhood, riding along with both her parents as helicopter reporters in Los Angeles in the 1980s. She and her younger brother viewed the news stories as they were happening. She goes on to write about the start of her own career as a journalist, meeting her husband, and starting their family. It is a very honest and personal account, and a very inspirational read. Highly recommended. I received an advanced reader copy of this book, and am very thankful to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review it.
• 
  Mary Novaria

  There are three main threads in Katy Tur's new memoir.
  
  The first is her family of origin story, which anyone who has followed Tur's life and career knows is somewhat sensational -- both because her Los Angeles parents were pioneers in covering big news stories via helicopter, and because her father, formerly Bob Tur, transitioned nearly a decade ago and is now known as Zoey Tur.
  
  Second is Tur's career trajectory. Following in her parents' journalistic footsteps, Tur outlines her upward mobility in broadcast news, including a London-based stint as a foreign correspondent for NBC. Tur's first memoir, Unbelievable, was an excellent recount of her reporting on the Trump campaign from early days through election night. No question Tur is extremely devoted to her craft, and is honest in wrestling with the balance of a demanding career and a young family, as are so many women.
  
  Third is Tur's romance and marriage to fellow broadcast journalist and author Tony Dokoupil, and their young family.
  
  I suspect Tur may take some heat for going on a tangent to question the legacy of one of TV news' most revered icons. Still, it was a brave choice that gives a good illustration of how the business has changed over the decades.
  
  The three main threads of Tur's story don't seem to weave neatly together. Instead, they run parallel to each other. Although early in the book, Tur indicates her fraught relationship with her father (due to the latter's angry emotional and physical abuse as a parent) is a major conundrum, she largely drops it about halfway through and never really exposes what one would assume is incredible personal angst over their estrangement. Especially once she became a parent herself.
  
  As Tur ultimately returns to the issue at the end of the book, we begin to understand that she is admittedly a compartmentalizer. I get that as self-preservation, but as a reader of memoir, I am seeking more self-reflection and introspection. Because of that, although it is a pleasant read, I'm left with the sense that something is missing, which makes this memoir indeed feel like a bit of a "rough draft."
  
  Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to review the ARC.
• 
  Terri

  I did not want to put this book down. I read it in its entirety in two sittings. And here's the truth: I've never watched Katy Tur on the news or in a video or in anything for that matter. I am a CBS Evening News watcher, and somehow Katy Tur had missed my notice before now. But after reading this book I love her. This memoir is heartfelt and real. I wish her and her family all the best.