Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Chasing Helicity
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Zee, Ginger
BIRTHDATE: 1/13/1981
WEBSITE: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2017024559
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2017024559
HEADING: Zee, Ginger
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670 __ |a Natural disaster, 2018: |b ECIP t.p. (Ginger Zee) data view (currently ABC News chief meteorologist)
I CHANGED THE MAIN NAME TO GINGER ZEE, AS THAT IS WHAT SHE USES PROFESSIONALLY AND FOR HER BOOKS — AC
PERSONAL
Born January 13, 1981, in Orange, CA; daughter of Robert Zuidgeest and Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft; married Benjamin Aaron Colonomos, June 7, 2014; children: Adrian Benjamin, Miles Macklin.
EDUCATION:Valparaiso University, B.S.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Meteorologist and writer. WEYI-TV, Flint, MI, meteorologist; WYIN-TV, Merrillville, IN, meteorologist; WLAV-FM and WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, MI, meteorologist; WBMA-LD ABC 33/40, Birmingham, AL, meteorology intern; WMAQ, Chicago, IL, meteorologist, 2006-11; ABC News, Good Morning America, weekend meteorologist, 2011-13, chief meteorologist, 2013—. Also, appeared on the television show, Dancing with the Stars.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Ginger Zee is a meteorologist and writer. Born in Orange, CA, she spent most of her childhood in Rockford, MI. Zee holds a bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University. She has served as a meteorologist for television and radio stations in cities, including Flint, MI, Merrillville, IN, Grand Rapids, MI, Birmingham, AL, and Chicago, IL. In 2011, Zee joined ABC News as the weekend meteorologist for its Good Morning America program. Two years later, she was promoted to chief meteorologist for the network.
Natural Disaster
In 2017, Zee released her first book, a memoir called Natural Disaster: I Cover Them, I Am One. In this volume, she discusses her battle with depression and explains how she has developed the skills to fight it successfully. Zee begins with a story about a romantic relationship of hers that went badly and notes that she has had many other relationships in her past that have not been healthy because of her depression. She reveals that her upbringing was less than ideal and that family problems from her past have turned into issues that she has had to deal with as an adult. Zee discusses her career, explaining that it has always been a bright point in her live, despite her mental health struggles. She is aware of her ability to project confidence and professionalism while on camera, even when her life feels like it is falling apart. Zee recalls the darkest moments of her life, when thoughts of suicide became overbearing. She suggests that her own recognition of her problem was her first step in turning her life around. She began seeking help from mental health professionals, who gave her the skills to deal with her depression and to understand herself better. Zee notes that, in the years leading up to the book’s publication, she had successfully managed her mental health, had maintained a healthy marriage, and has become the mother of two sons.
Zee told Tracy Swartz, contributor to the Chicago Tribune website: “(The book) is kind of the anti-Instagram and the big theme here is depression. And that’s one of those topics that I was embarrassed and not honest with myself for years about, and I hope that this book can open up a conversation between people.” In an interview with John Gonzalez, writer on the MLive website, Zee commented on her hopes for those reading her book. She stated: “It means a lot to me that people know and hear my story. … I imagine there are a lot of young people that are growing up like I did, and maybe they had a chaotic childhood, and maybe their parents just got divorced, and they can hopefully read these stories and we can help each other. Just to learn each other’s stories and give each other grace and forgiveness.” Regarding the writing process, Zee told Aurelie Corinthios, contributor to the online version of People: “I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was. … There were times where I would stop writing and get extremely emotional — like, I thought I was over this. But edit after edit after edit, I developed a sense of pride and found a bit of closure in some of these parts in my life. I am so lucky that I get to do this. I’m so lucky I get to tell my story.” Zee continued: “I realize, too, that just because I’ve been in a good place for six years and I’ve gotten myself to a much healthier mental state. … I don’t think anybody’s forever cured. But being aware of it, sharing it, talking about it, this is where I hope that the healing happens.”
A California Bookwatch reviewer described Natural Disaster as “recommended reading for memoir fans in general.” Alex Reif, critic on the Laughing Place website, suggested: “Through her stories, readers suffering from depression may better understand themselves and some ways that they can seek help. For those without depression, it will provide a better understanding of what it’s like to have it.” Reif also called the volume a “well-written and insightful book.”
Chasing Helicity
Chasing Helicity is Zee’s first novel and the first in a series starring an aspiring meteorologist named Helicity. It is geared toward younger readers. Helicity becomes mesmerized by a tornado that touches down near her town. She decides to film it and captures some of the destruction it wreaked. Helicity puts herself in harms way in order to get the best shots of the tornado and is nearly swept up in the process. Andy, her brother, is wounded when he goes out to find her. His injuries may cause him to forfeit his football scholarship. After viewing Helicity’s footage, a meteorology professor named Lana takes Helicity under her wing. Helicity begins accompanying Lana and her intern, Sam, on storm chasing expeditions. Along the way, she learns about meteorology and develops a crush on Sam. Meanwhile, her family life becomes difficult because of her brother’s addiction to the medications for the pain his injuries have caused.
In an interview with a writer on the Hollywood Chicago website, Zee stated: “The character of Helicity and I share a passion for understanding the atmosphere and extreme weather. Because this is hyper reality, Helicity gets to experience the literal storms and life’s storms earlier and more concentrated than I did, and she learns the life lessons faster too. It’s the evolution of me in a much shorter period of time.” Regarding the writing process, Zee told the same writer: “The main lesson I learned was limiting the darkness of where the story could go. In my experiences covering storms, it does get really dark…so it is natural for me to want to go to reality or even hyper-reality.”
Reviews of Chasing Helicity were mixed. A Kirkus Reviews critic suggested: “The weather is nicely evoked and fully believable; the trite plot stretches credibility. … This might possibly appeal to readers who are weather-focused.” However, a contributor to Publishers Weekly remarked: “Meteorologist Zee deftly balances the science of storms, their fascination to storm chasers, and Helicity’s angst and family problems.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Zee, Ginger, Natural Disaster: I Cover Them, I Am One, Kingswell (Los Angeles, CA), 2017
PERIODICALS
California Bookwatch, January, 2018, review of Natural Disaster.
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2018, review of Chasing Helicity.
Publishers Weekly, February 5, 2018, review of Chasing Helicity, p. 62.
ONLINE
Chicago Tribune Online, http://www.chicagotribune.com/ (December 5, 2017), Tracy Swartz, author interview.
Country Living Online, https://www.countryliving.com/ (December 6, 2017), Maria Carter, author interview.
Hollywood Chicago, http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/ (July 20, 2018), author interview.
Laughing Place, https://www.laughingplace.com/ (January 10 2018), Alex Reif, review of Natural Disaster.
MLive, https://www.mlive.com/ (December 5, 2017), John Gonzalez, author interview.
People Online, https://people.com/ (December 5, 2017), Aurelie Corinthios, author interview.
Ginger Zee
Ginger Zee (cropped).jpg
Zee in 2015
Born Ginger Renee Zuidgeest
January 13, 1981 (age 37)
Orange, California, U.S.
Other names Ginger Colonomos
Education Valparaiso University
Alma mater Valparaiso University (B.S.)
Years active 2004–present
Known for Broadcast meteorologist
Spouse(s) Ben Aaron (m. 2014)
Children 2
Ginger Renee Colonomos (née Zuidgeest; born January 13, 1981), known by her pseudonym Ginger Zee, is an American television personality. She is the chief meteorologist for ABC News. Previously she was their weekend meteorologist.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Early life and education
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 References
5 External links
Early life and education[edit]
Zee was born Ginger Renee Zuidgeest on January 13, 1981 in Orange, California, the daughter of Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft (née Hemleb) and Robert Zuidgeest.[2][3][4] The family moved to Michigan before she was 1 year old.[2] Zee was named after "Ginger" from Gilligan's Island by her Dutch father, due to his love of the show.[5]
In her extended family, Zee has a stepfather named Carl Craft, and two half-sisters, Adrianna and Elaina Craft.[6][7] Zee's paternal grandparents are Adriaan Cornelis "Adrian" or "Arie" Zuidgeest and Hillegonda "Hilda" Zuidgeest (née VanderShoor), who both immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands.[4] Zee's maternal grandfather is George Joseph Hemleb and grandmother Paula Adeline Wesner.[6]
Zee said she chose to be a meteorologist because, "I saw a waterspout on Lake Michigan when I was eight... I was mesmerized. I really thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen."[8] In 1999, Zee graduated from Rockford High School in Rockford, Michigan. After that, Zee went on to Valparaiso University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology as well as a major in both mathematics and Spanish. Her goal at graduation was to be a Meteorologist on The Today Show by age 30.[9]
Career[edit]
Lara Spencer (left) and Zee at the 2014 Pre-White House Correspondents' Dinner Reception Pre-Party
After graduating from college, Zee worked for various media outlets such as WEYI-TV in Flint, Michigan, WYIN-TV in Merrillville, Indiana, WLAV-FM and WOOD-TV both in Grand Rapids, Michigan, WBMA-LD ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama as an intern under chief meteorologist James Spann, and WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois, an NBC owned and operated station.[10] While working at WMAQ from 2006-2011, Zee was once asked to fill in as a guest meteorologist on the weekend edition of The Today Show, and this fulfilled her high school goal.[1][11] In addition, Zee is an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist.[12]
Zee reached national prominence when she joined Good Morning America Weekend on November 12, 2011.[1][13] Zee occasionally appears on other ABC programming such as Nightline and ABC World News Tonight.
On December 2, 2013, ABC News announced that Zee would become Chief Meteorologist for Good Morning America and weather editor for ABC News, succeeding Sam Champion, who took a job with The Weather Channel.[14]
On March 4, 2016, Zee was announced as a celebrity competitor on the 22nd season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy.[15] The couple reached third place.[citation needed]
Personal life[edit]
At age 21, Zee was diagnosed with narcolepsy.[8] In August 2013, Zee became engaged to WNBC personality Benjamin Aaron Colonomos, known as Ben Aaron.[16] The couple wed on June 7, 2014.[17] Their son Adrian Benjamin was born in December 2015 in Petoskey, Michigan.[18][19] On August 14, 2017, she announced on Good Morning America she was pregnant with her second child. On February 9, 2018 she gave birth to a boy, named Miles Macklin.
QUOTED: "(The book) is kind of the anti-Instagram and the big theme here is depression. And that's one of those topics that I was embarrassed and not honest with myself for years about, and I hope that this book can open up a conversation between people."
Tracy SwartzContact Reporter
Dec 5 2017
Chicago Tribune
As her five-year stint in Chicago at WMAQ-Ch. 5 came to an end in 2011, meteorologist Ginger Zee drank wine before work shifts in her dark studio apartment as she sunk into a Cabernet-soaked depression.
The 36-year-old ABC News chief meteorologist covers her dismal time in Chicago in her memoir “Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One,” out Tuesday.
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Zee writes about her rocky move from Western Michigan to Chicago in 2006; her secret romance with an unnamed Chicago political source who turned out to be engaged to another woman; her struggle with body-shaming feedback from WMAQ viewers; and her memories of a night that left her crying and drunk under a West Loop bridge.
“It’s not the city's fault because it's a wonderful city and I love it there, and I've got family there,” Zee said in a phone interview. “It just was the time in my life and some of the circumstances and the choices that I made and then, obviously, the mental illness that I was battling. And so the combination of all those things just came into that place, and I wasn't getting the help that I should have because I wasn't seeking it properly.”
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Zee said she checked herself into a mental inpatient facility days before starting work at ABC to deal with depression, suicidal thoughts and an emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend.
The secrets Zee spills in the book — which she calls the “watered-down version” — may surprise some fans. The Valparaiso University graduate seemed to float easily from working weekends at WMAQ to forecasting weather on “Good Morning America" and finishing third on last year’s 22nd season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
“People see me for 30 seconds at a time and they see someone who's got a hair and make-up team that put them together and they’re looking all right in the world, but it's not. We don't all have perfect lives, even if they are seemingly so,” Zee said. “So (the book) is kind of the anti-Instagram and the big theme here is depression. And that's one of those topics that I was embarrassed and not honest with myself for years about, and I hope that this book can open up a conversation between people saying, ‘You know what? I have those feelings too.’ ”
Life has changed considerably for Zee since she moved to New York. She’s been married to TV personality Ben Aaron, whom she met through former WFLD-Ch. 32 meteorologist Amy Freeze, for more than three years. Zee gave birth to their first son in December 2015. Their second son is due in February.
Zee — who shortened her last name from Zuidgeest early in her career — also hosts the ABC News digital series “Food Forecast." She’s scheduled to discuss her book Friday on "The View," which airs at 10 a.m. weekdays on WLS-Ch. 7.
tswartz@tribpub.com
Twitter @tracyswartz
QUOTED: "The character of Helicity and I share a passion for understanding the atmosphere and extreme weather. Because this is hyper reality, Helicity gets to experience the literal storms and life’s storms earlier and more concentrated than I did, and she learns the life lessons faster too. It’s the evolution of me in a much shorter period of time."
"The main lesson I learned was limiting the darkness of where the story could go. In my experiences covering storms, it does get really dark…so it is natural for me to want to go to reality or even hyper-reality."
CHICAGO – Ginger Zee is more than a popular meteorologist who comes into homes during the A.M. on “Good Morning America.” She is also an advocate in her pursuit of weather reporting and a newly minted writer of fiction. She combined both for middle school readers, in her new book “Chasing Helicity.”
Ms. Zee was born in California, but grew up in Michigan. Her fascination with weather events started as a child, when she saw a waterspout on Lake Michigan. She got her bachelors degree in Meteorology from Valparaiso University, began her weather reporting career in Flint, Michigan, and eventually landed on the local news in Chicago in 2006. In 2011, she got the call to the big leagues, when ABC-TV hired her for “Good Morning America Weekend,” and in 2013 named her Chief Meteorologist. Her highest profile in that position is on the daily “Good Morning America,” where she is part of the daybreak crew on that show.
Zee1
Meteorologist Ginger Zee in Chicagoland for ‘Chasing Helicity’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
Ginger Zee’s new book is the middle school novel “Chasing Helicity,” a semi-autobiography about a young girl who has an affinity for weather events, and the plot is used it as a background for encouraging science study for girls. She recently appeared in Chicagoland at an event sponsored by Anderson’s Bookshop of Naperville, Ill. For the HollywoodChicago.com Slideshow of that event, click here. HollywoodChicago.com also reached out to Ginger Zee in a series of interview questions, which she answered via email.
HollywoodChicago.com: Your new book, ‘Chasing Helicity,’ could be characterized as semi auto biographical, given that your interest in weather began in your childhood. What is most similar about your title character to your persona, and where does Helicity split from who you are?
Ginger Zee: The character of Helicity and I share a passion for understanding the atmosphere and extreme weather. Because this is hyper reality, Helicity gets to experience the literal storms and life’s storms earlier and more concentrated than I did, and she learns the life lessons faster too. It’s the evolution of me in a much shorter period of time.
HollywoodChicago.com: Your book is also tied to STEM issues [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math] for girls and inspiring them to maintain interest in these fields of studiy. What encourages you about the current generation of girls as they approach their education in these areas?
Zee: We are talking about it! The acronym of STEM exists to support and encourage it. These girls have an even greater platform and so much more support than generations past, and I hope that encouragement propels them into the sciences.
HollywoodChicago.com: You wrote ‘Chasing Helicity’ for a middle school reader. What books in your youth were influential as you were approaching your writing, and what limits as far as content do you have to consider when writing for this particular audience?
Zee: The main lesson I learned was limiting the darkness of where the story could go. In my experiences covering storms, it does get really dark…so it is natural for me to want to go to reality or even hyper-reality. That’s what I remember from the initial R.L. Stine books [“Goosebumps” series] that made me want to be a writer, when I read them in middle school – I loved how dark and twisted they got. Another one of my favorite stories was Lois Duncan’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Oddly, I don’t like thriller/horror now, but back then, I loved the drama. So I think of that as part of the story for my younger audience.
HollywoodChicago.com: You are a Chief Meteorologist at ABC-TV. In your journey to that lofty position, what has been maintained in your basic love and study of weather, that you hope comes through in your reporting on a daily basis?
Zee: No matter what I am covering, I try to add something from my scientific expertise… it’s an effort to remind folks that there is so much more to learn about the atmosphere and environment around them. That is a huge reason why even naming the character Helicity – which is my favorite forecasting variable [tornado formation] – was so important to me. I want there to be blatant and hidden science lessons throughout everything I do.
Zee2
Author Ginger Zee and Her Latest Book, ‘Chasing Helicity’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
HollywoodChicago.com: We currently have a presidential administration that is vocal about not making climate change a priority. From your seat as a climate expert, what can we keep losing in our environment if measures are not taken against climate change?
Zee: I would never consider myself as a climate expert, as my education was in forecasting the weather in short term. That said, I have had the opportunity to study our atmosphere, boundary layer meteorology, and I have been the “green” reporter at several TV stations. I can tell you that there is no doubt on a micro scale we have impacted our weather.
Think about the difference of a thunderstorm feeding off the moisture and cooler conditions of natural grasses versus the asphalt of several developments and store parking lots. You change the surface, you inevitably change the fuel for a thunderstorm. If it changes things on a micro scale that all has to add up. Also, at the end of the day we are often fighting over the rights to clean air and water. I challenge you to find someone who doesn’t think that clean air and water is important. It must be. We must make it a priority.
HollywoodChicago.com: Congrats on your second child! You were in the news for responding to social media criticism on both body image and maternity leave. What is stressful to you regarding our current level of discourse on social media, and what motivates you to respond?
Zee: I try to respond to everyone, and that’s not always easy. But I feel responsible to converse even with those who might not be complimentary. Often the attacks I get are coming from people who intend to hurt, and are looking for interaction and attention. I like to remind them that there is a human at the other end of the keyboard, and hopefully protect others going forward.
HollywoodChicago.com: Finally, your first book, the memoir ‘Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I am One,’ you opened up about your battles with depression and the effects of such on your early relationships. Now that you are presumably past some of the obstacles that caused these circumstances, what advice would you give to your younger self to bring her to a more balanced sense of being?
Zee: Being honest with myself was the thing that changed it all for me. There were so many times I should have gone to get real help with my depression, but I ignored it or swept it under the rug. It wasn’t until I said it out loud, told my closest family that I needed help, and actually was open to seeking serious hospitalization did I get better.
As part of saying it out loud, my memoir has been the ultimate healing process for me, because I’m saying it out loud to everyone, even strangers, and I’m forced to be okay with the reactions to it, either positive and negative. As a result, I feel the healthiest I ever have because of that honesty with myself. I finally respect and love myself enough to live life full of joy. I would remind myself In those dark times – if I could go back – that the clouds don’t last forever, they can’t and they won’t. That’s not how the atmosphere or life works.
”Chasing Helicity” by Ginger Zee is available at Anderson’s Bookshop and wherever books are sold. For more information about Ginger Zee, click here.
Read more: http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/28554/interview-ginger-zee-on-her-new-book-chasing-helicity#ixzz5LoZHscbc
QUOTED: "it means a lot to me that people know and hear my story. ... I imagine there are a lot of young people that are growing up like I did, and maybe they had a chaotic childhood, and maybe their parents just got divorced, and they can hopefully read these stories and we can help each other. Just to learn each other's stories and give each other grace and forgiveness."
Dec 5 2017
From breakdowns to breakups, Ginger Zee tells all in "Natural Disaster'
Updated Dec 5, 2017; Posted Dec 5, 2017
Rockford, Michigan native Ginger Zee talks about failed relationships, her struggles with depression and how she checked herself into a mental hospital before joining ABC-TV.
Rockford, Michigan native Ginger Zee talks about failed relationships, her struggles with depression and how she checked herself into a mental hospital before joining ABC-TV.(Kingswell)
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By John Gonzalez gonzo@mlive.com
It's not easy being on TV. In the public eye. Every day.
The highs and the lows all play out for the world to see, regardless of what's really happening in your "real world."
It might not be the life a young Michigan girl dreamed of when she fell in love with weather while watching storms roll in off Lake Michigan, but it's the life she envisioned once network TV came a calling.
It's Ginger Zee's life, and the Rockford, Michigan, native tells all in "Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One." ($26.99, Kingswell/Disney Book Group), released today (Dec. 5, 2017).
In it she talks about failed relationships, how she called off her first wedding (twice), and how she checked herself into a mental hospital two weeks before starting her job at ABC-TV.
It's a "memoir," which seems odd since Ginger is only 36 years old.
"That word (memoir) always scares me," Ginger said when I talked to her just before Thanksgiving. (LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW PODCAST BELOW.)
"I feel 'memoir' means that you're done. But I don't think that's where I'm at. I think there is a large chapter of my life that is closing, and that's why I wanted to write it."
She didn't go into the project with a memoir in mind, she said.
She met publishers and talked about her story, the storms she covered, and about her "personal storms," such as her struggles to overcome depression, toxic relationships, and the ups and downs of becoming the first-ever female network meteorologist.
"All of a sudden, a very personal book came out," she said. "So memoir is a strange word, but I'll own it."
If you're from Michigan, especially West Michigan and the Flint/Saginaw/Bay City area, you will recognize names, events and landmarks, as "Natural Disaster" chronicles the day her parents split up when she was just a child, to those early days working as a young meteorologist with little experience.
What fans will discover is a 282-page, 22-chapter book about real struggles and the not-so-glamorous side of what appears to be a very glamorous life.
She talks about idolizing former WEYI-TV Channel 25 anchor Erin Looby, who had "perfect hair, prefect makeup, the perfect outfit, and perfect shoes...She delivered the news in a confident, yet pleasant tone, never stumbling on her words."
She talks about a sink-or-swim moment when the station's chief meteorologist at the time called in sick on her second day on the job. That would be Mark Torregrossa, now the chief meteorologist at MLive.
And she mentions her time at WOOD-TV Channel 8 in Grand Rapids, where she also idolized meteorologist Terri DeBoer, and fell in love with her friend and co-worker at the time, Brad Edwards. (The two of them tormented WOOD-TV's political reporter Rick Albin, which, if you know any of these players, makes for some good laughs.)
All of this is VERY personal, but it's what makes the book a must read, especially for Michiganders.
"To tell your story you have to include others," she said of naming names.
"There are some people in my life that were such positive lights and such inspirations, and they deserve to be mentioned. And there were others who created challenges for me."
It's tough, she said, because "you want to be fair. You don't want to be too biting or cutting."
"This is a bit of a watered down version," she said.
The biggest thing is that "I want people to know me," she added.
We all see social media and TV for 30 seconds at a time, and you see this glossy version of who you think everyone is, she said.
"This book, I hope, tells people we each have a story...and until you learn that story, it's very difficult to judge," she said. "There are a lot of highs, and a lot of lows."
Ginger Zee with her husband, Ben, and son, Adrian, at the West Michigan Whitecaps game July 13, 2017.
The highs: Obviously meeting her husband Ben Colonomos, who is also a media personality and reporter, and who is better known as Ben Aaron. (He co-hosts "Pickler & Ben," a syndicated TV show with former "American Idol" star Kellie Pickler.) Ben and Ginger are expect their second child, another son, in February.
The lows: A moment where she "totally lost herself" after a night of partying, while working in Chicago. The heavy snowfall forced her under a bridge next to a homeless woman. "Everything was hitting the fan. There was homeless woman offering me her hat. I was low. I was not in a good place. It really sobered me up, literally and figuratively. I needed to let myself be me and stop trying to be something I wasn't. I'm hoping that chapter really helps somebody."
She also hopes young people will come away with a little more "grace and forgiveness" to not let struggles consume them. She wants people to get help when they see the signs.
Now she feels a lot of gratitude, which she will bring to her book signing on Dec. 9 to Barnes & Noble in Grand Rapids in the Woodland Mall.
"I don't know if there will be anybody that I don't know," she said.
"The connection to Michigan in this book runs deep, and it means a lot to me that people know and hear my story," she added.
"I imagine there are a lot of young people that are growing up like I did, and maybe they had a chaotic childhood, and maybe their parents just got divorced, and they can hopefully read these stories and we can help each other. Just to learn each other's stories and give each other grace and forgiveness."
IF YOU GO
Ginger Zee book signing, "Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One." 4 p.m. Dec. 9 at Barnes & Noble at Woodland Mall, 3195 28th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512.
QUOTED: "I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was. ... There were times where I would stop writing and get extremely emotional — like, I thought I was over this. But edit after edit after edit, I developed a sense of pride and found a bit of closure in some of these parts in my life. I am so lucky that I get to do this. I’m so lucky I get to tell my story."
"I realize, too, that just because I’ve been in a good place for six years and I’ve gotten myself to a much healthier mental state. ... I don’t think anybody’s forever cured. But being aware of it, sharing it, talking about it, this is where I hope that the healing happens."
GMA's Ginger Zee Reveals Crippling Battle with Depression That Once Left Her Suicidal
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MEET JORDIN SPARKS' SON DJ! WHY SHE CHOSE NATURAL BIRTH AND HOW HER HUSBAND DANA ISAIAH HELPED
AURELIE CORINTHIOS December 05, 2017 08:00 AM
When she was 21, Ginger Zee locked herself in her bathroom and took every pill she could find in her medicine cabinet.
“I’d lost all hope,” the 36-year-old Good Morning America chief meteorologist tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue. “I just shut down. It wasn’t worth living. I was wasting people’s time and space.”
Her then-roommate and ex-boyfriend realized what she’d done and got her to the hospital. Luckily, the concoction she’d taken — mostly Benadryl and other benign substances — wasn’t lethal. But Zee was diagnosed with depression, something she opens up about at length in her new book, Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One, out now.
“Depression for me has been a couple of different things — but the first time I felt it, I felt helpless, hopeless and things I had never felt before,” she says. “I lost myself and my will to live.”
Ginger Zee
Ginger ZeeAllison Michael Orenstein
At the time, Zee, who grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, had just graduated from Valparaiso University in Indiana and was struggling to find her footing, admitting that her career “did not kick off” in the way she expected. But looking back, she realizes the source of her depression could never explain the emotional roller coaster she found herself on.
“It doesn’t matter what’s relative to another person’s tragedy, or whatever it is that’s making you feel low,” she says. “In that moment, my brain, and probably a chemical somewhere within me, said, ‘You need to kill yourself.’ The only voices I could hear were telling me, ‘You are not worth it.’ ”
Watch the full episode of Ginger Zee: My Battle with Depression, streaming now on PeopleTV. Go to People.com/peopletv, or download the app on your favorite streaming device.
“It’s very weird how that works,” she adds. “I didn’t question it. I didn’t sit there and think about it. I just went for it. It’s scary, the way your mind can overpower what is real and what is right. Now as a mother, to think that that could be my child? That is frightening.”
Zee — who has previously been open about her battle with anorexia as a young girl — had also been diagnosed with narcolepsy in college. She believes the medication she began taking, which heightened her emotions dramatically, played a part in her suicide attempt.
“It amplified everything,” she says. “Ups were amplified and downs were amplified. I’ve had to learn to live on that medication responsibly, because I can’t not have it. You have to be really, really careful with it.”
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But all while weathering her own personal storms, Zee never gave up her dogged pursuit of a career in TV news.
“My professional life, in a strange way, has always been going up, up, up, while my personal life was just the complete opposite,” she says.
Zee was on air at the NBC affiliate in Chicago by the age of 25, and joined ABC’s GMA in 2011. But in the months leading up to her move to New York, her depression began rivaling that post-college low. Ten days before starting the job at ABC — and terrified her new coworkers would find out — she checked herself into a mental-health facility.
“I was in this place where I knew my personal life could affect this outstanding job and opportunity that I had,” she says. “For the first time in a long time, I wanted to live and I knew that.”
During a weeklong program, she met a therapist who “changed everything” — and has been working with him ever since.
“I think that there’s a reason that people have these jobs where they go to school to study something that all of us don’t,” she says. “That’s because they studied how to help people. You need that person who’s impartial.”
For more on Ginger, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday
Zee has also benefited from an incredible support system that includes her mother, Dawn, and her husband Ben Aaron, 36.
“I’ve been lucky to find a husband who doesn’t judge my past,” says Zee of Aaron, whom she wed in 2014. “In fact, writing this book, he wanted more, which says a lot. He’s like, ‘I want to listen. I want to be a part of that.’ ”
“It’s hard to just pick one thing that I am most proud of her for,” Aaron tells PEOPLE. “She’s the best mom, wife and meteorologist in the world. I often describe her as a goddess.”
The couple share son Adrian (who turns 2 this month) and are expecting another baby boy in February. Zee says becoming a mom has given her new strength and perspective.
“I’m now focused on not just myself, but on keeping my family happy and healthy,” she says. “You have bigger things than [your own problems]. That has helped a lot — being a mother has helped incredibly.”
From left: Ben Aaron, Ginger Zee, Adrian Colonomous
From left: Ben Aaron, Ginger Zee, Adrian Colonomous
Zee also says writing her book was a form of therapy.
“I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was,” she says. “There were times where I would stop writing and get extremely emotional — like, I thought I was over this. But edit after edit after edit, I developed a sense of pride and found a bit of closure in some of these parts in my life. I am so lucky that I get to do this. I’m so lucky I get to tell my story.”
“I realize, too, that just because I’ve been in a good place for six years and I’ve gotten myself to a much healthier mental state … I don’t think that I’m cured,” she admits. “I don’t think anybody’s forever cured. But being aware of it, sharing it, talking about it, this is where I hope that the healing happens.”
And though she’s nervous — “terrified,” in fact — for the world to read it, she hopes being candid about her mental health struggles will spark a national dialogue.
“This is the anti-Instagram book,” she explains. “We get very polished on all of social media. I’m so worried, because there’s still a part of me thinking, Oh gosh, this is a lot to tell people. But I keep being fueled by the fact that there might be — and I know there is, because I’ve had them reach out to me — [someone] in the same place that I was.”
“If this doesn’t at least start the conversation in someone’s household where they say, ‘Mom, dad, sister, brother, friend, I actually feel like this sometimes. I have these moments, and it’s weird because the woman I watch for 30 seconds on TV is talking about it. I thought that she had a baby and another baby on the way and the perfect husband and the perfect life because I saw it on social media. Then she told me this story, and she’s really broken. But she still got to be where she is. That means that if I’m having these feelings, perhaps I can have that future,’ ” Zee says.
“We should all treat each other with love and respect,” she adds. “Because that glossy image you see is never the person that’s really inside there.”
"I lost myself and my will to live."
BY MARIA CARTER
DEC 6, 2017
218
GETTY IMAGES
In 2011, just days before starting her job as Good Morning America's chief meteorologist, a 30-year-old Ginger Zee checked into a mental-health treatment center, according to a her new memoir, Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One.
"I was in this place where I knew my personal life could affect this outstanding job and opportunity that I had," Zee told People in a recent interview. "For the first time in a long time, I wanted to live and I knew that."
Zee was previously diagnosed with depression at the age of 21 after attempting suicide by pill overdose. Thankfully, her former roommate and ex-boyfriend rushed her to the hospital, and the mixture of over-the-counter meds she'd taken turned to be non-lethal.
"I'd lost all hope," Zee told People. "I just shut down. It wasn't worth living. I was wasting people's time and space."
The season 22 Dancing with the Stars contestant told People she believes a disheartening job outlook after college and the prescription she takes for narcolepsy, which "amplifies" emotions, prompted her suicidal episode.
"I didn't question it," said Zee, now 36. "I didn't sit there and think about it. I just went for it. It's scary, the way your mind can overpower what is real and what is right. Now as a mother, to think that that could be my child? That is frightening."
She and husband Ben Aaron have a 2-year-old son, Adrian, and are expecting a second boy in February. Zee said support from her mother, husband, and the incredible therapist she's been working with since her pre-GMA stint in the mental-health facility keep her strong.
She also credits motherhood for helping her maintain perspective:"You have bigger things than [your own problems]. That has helped a lot—being a mother has helped incredibly."
QUOTED: "The weather is nicely evoked and fully believable; the trite plot stretches credibility. ... This might possibly appeal to readers who are weather-focused."
Print Marked Items
Zee, Ginger: CHASING HELICITY
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Zee, Ginger CHASING HELICITY Disney-Hyperion (Children's Fiction) $16.99 4, 24 ISBN: 978-1-4847-8038-1
ABC News meteorologist Zee embellishes her debut novel with plenty of accurate weather information.
Thirteen-year-old Helicity (a physics term that means "to spin") finds herself on the fringe of a devastating tornado that sweeps through her town.
Caught up in filming it, she barely escapes, but her older brother, Andy, out looking for her as the storm strikes, is less fortunate. He's injured,
possibly ending a promising football career and leaving their father raging about his potential loss of a scholarship. Helicity, fascinated by
weather, attracts the interest of a young female meteorology professor and storm chaser, Lana. Lana has a cute 17-year-old male sidekick named
Sam, who too often lets his enthusiasm carry him into danger, breaking Lana's safety rules. The weather isn't the only thing that's extreme in this
book. Andy quickly (and predictably) becomes addicted to the pain meds that his ridiculously angry father helps provide. Meanwhile, Helicity, in
spite of her age, is implausibly invited to spend the summer storm chasing with Lana and Sam. Default-white cardboard characters who seem to
lack any real reason for their behavior move enigmatically through the storm-wracked landscape. The action ramps up nicely toward a conclusion
that, disappointingly, leaves nearly all the conflict unresolved, presumably setting up the next in the series. The weather is nicely evoked and fully
believable; the trite plot stretches credibility to the breaking point.
This might possibly appeal to readers who are weather-focused. (Fiction. 9-14)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Zee, Ginger: CHASING HELICITY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530650755/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a2ae9822. Accessed 15 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A530650755
QUOTED: "Meteorologist Zee deftly balances the science of storms, their fascination to storm chasers, and Helicity's angst and family problems."
Chasing Helicity
Publishers Weekly.
265.6 (Feb. 5, 2018): p62.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Chasing Helicity
Ginger Zee. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (208p)
ISBN 978-1-4847-8038-1
Thirteen-year-old Helicity Dunlap, named after a physics term relating to a particle's spin, loves storms, science, and math. After she isn't placed
in honors classes for the coming school year, she goes for a horseback ride and is far from home when a tornado hits. Helicity's western Michigan
town is destroyed, and her football-star older brother is injured while searching for her. In the aftermath, Helicity meets a meteorologist/storm
chaser named Lana who gets her a handsome tutor named Sam, so that Helicity can prove to her parents that she belongs in the honors classes. It
takes her father some time to come around, but Helicity is eventually allowed to go on a storm-chasing trip with Lana and Sam. But tragedy
strikes there, too, and a cliffhanger sets up a sequel. Meteorologist Zee deftly balances the science of storms, their fascination to storm chasers,
and Helicity's angst and family problems. Readers should easily relate to Helicity's longing to follow her passion: "Wind, moisture, pressure,
temperature--there was so much about the weather that she didn't know, and so much she wanted to understand." Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Chasing Helicity." Publishers Weekly, 5 Feb. 2018, p. 62. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526810459/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b9446ec1. Accessed 15 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526810459
QUOTED: "recommended reading for memoir fans in general."
Natural Disaster
California Bookwatch.
(Jan. 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Full Text:
Natural Disaster
Ginger Lee
Kingswell
c/o Disney Hyperion
125 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10023
www.disneyhyperionbooks.com
97811484780428 $26.99 amazon.com
Natural Disaster comes from ABC News' Chief Meteorologist, who writes a memoir about her life in small-town Michigan and how she become
involved in weather reporting. Anyone who chooses her memoir for her reporter's role alone will find it much more than a singular focus: here
she discusses her battle with depression, her many romances, and a professional career filled with ups and downs. Her insights about the
meteorology field serve as a backdrop to a fine saga about family, friends, and fortunes and is recommended reading for memoir fans in general
and those with a special affinity for Lee or weather reporting in particular.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Natural Disaster." California Bookwatch, Jan. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526996911/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=242b8969. Accessed 15 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526996911
QUOTED: "Through her stories, readers suffering from depression may better understand themselves and some ways that they can seek help. For those without depression, it will provide a better understanding of what it’s like to have it."
"well-written and insightful book."
by Alex Reif | Jan 10, 2018
Tags: Disney Books, Ginger Zee, Good Morning America, Natural Disaster
Like millions of Americans, I’ve awoken to the forecast of Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee on ABC’s Good Morning America more times than I can count. I remember Sam Champion’s retirement announcement and was familiar with Ginger as she was already on the show. Such a bright energy, I assumed Ginger went directly from college to being an ABC intern and her inevitable success as a core member of the GMA team. But in Natural Disaster, her memoir from Disney’s Kingswell book label, you will learn that her climb to the top was anything but quick or easy.
Ginger writes her story like she’s talking directly to you as if you’re her oldest, dearest friend. She’s often very funny, full of wit and insight, and tells her story in the most candid of ways. But the brilliance of Natural Disaster is that she doesn’t tell her story in linear order. You get to know her through some of her most comical faux pas, a young aspiring meteorologist figuring the world out on her own.
The book is called Natural Disaster and the cover also includes the phrase “I cover them, I am one.” Right from the start, Ginger is honest about the mess that her life has been and her story starts with one of several failed relationships highlighted throughout the book. You don’t have to be interested in the science of meteorology to relate to and connect with Ginger. Other areas of focus in her book include family drama, maintaining friendships, professionalism, and depression.
Ginger clearly understands that it will be hard for many who know her from TV to understand that she suffers from depression and has for a long time. She eases you into the idea of it early on, with a few references to it in some of the earliest chapters, but it’s past the middle of the book before she dives deep into how it has affected her life and how she overcame its hold over her. Through her stories, readers suffering from depression may better understand themselves and some ways that they can seek help. For those without depression, it will provide a better understanding of what it’s like to have it.
For those who are interested in learning more about what it takes to be a TV meteorologist, this book is full of Ginger’s fantastic adventures. Ginger examines how she became obsessed with weather as a child and discusses her education. You get to join her on her earliest gigs at small town TV stations and learn why the term “Weather girl” does NOT apply. Follow her on some heroic and heartbreaking storm chasing assignments, and also some inspiring and wonder-filled trips to the farthest corners of the globe.
Natural Disaster by Ginger Zee takes you through the full range of emotions. I laughed, I cried, and I Googled where I can find banana pudding near me. She has arrived at a point in life where she is happy, successful, and grateful. If you see her smiling face every day on GMA, I recommend getting to know her better through her well-written and insightful book.