Joan Lunden: A Bundle of Energy
Written by Sylvia Small Thursday, October 28 2010
Snapshot: Joan Lunden
Joan Lunden, the vivacious 60-year-old journalist, looks as good today as she did co-hosting Good Morning America (GMA) from 1980 to 1997. During her stint at GMA, a national viewer poll by Entertainment Weekly named her "television's favorite morning anchor."
Lunden wears many hats, including award-winning journalist, best-selling author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, wife, and mother. She hosts Lifetime's Health Corner, a weekly television series that covers such topics as health, childcare, medicine, and nutrition. RLTV (Retirement Living Television) will begin airing Taking Care in November. Developed in cooperation with AARP, the series will tackle the growing concern of caring for aging parents.
Lunden has written eight books, including, A Bend in the Road is not the End of the Road, Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living, Your Newborn Baby, and Good Morning I’m Joan Lunden. She also wrote the foreward to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom, a Mother's Day special edition of the popular book series.
She earned a liberal arts degree from Sacramento State University. She also studied Spanish and anthropology at the former Mexico City campus of Universidad de Las Americas.
Womenetics: Did you always aspire to be a journalist?
Joan Lunden: I thought I would be a doctor like my dad until I worked in a hospital. I found that I wasn't cut out for scalpels, stitches, and shots. I went into a profession that holds hands with the medical industry. Even brilliant doctors can't help people who don't know when to seek advice and care. The media has the ability to reach millions of people each day with information that helps them make better decisions about how to live healthier, longer, and happier lives.
Womenetics: Did your position at Good Morning America prepare you for your current work?
Lunden: When I joined GMA in 1980, I was somewhat relegated to covering stories on education, health, running a home, and raising kids because they were considered "women's" issues. That experience led me down the path to where I am today. Since leaving the show, I've really had the desire to help motivate and educate others.
During the last 10 years, I've worked with medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and organizations like the American Heart Association, the Colon Cancer Alliance, and the American Academy of Pediatrics in media-related educational campaigns. Although I didn't become a doctor, I still feel like I've helped people live healthier lives.
Womenetics: Tell me a little about Camp Reveille.
Lunden: I started a wellness retreat five years ago in Maine for women of all ages. Since my husband owns a summer camp for kids, we already had a beautiful facility. I talk to women about investing in their health so they can have some control over their future. That's the reason behind Camp Reveille, which means a wake-up call. 
We had 150 women from all across America participate in August. It's similar to the Walt Disney approach. You go there thinking you're going to play, but you're educated at the same time. I provide them with a safe environment in which they can have fun, motivate each other, and share their stories. There's an amazing strength that comes out of a community of women.
I can't tell you how many women in their 60s and 70s make it to the top of our 50-foot climbing wall. You're able to reconnect people with their sense of play and get them to recommit to their own health. I am grateful that I can play this role in other people's lives.
Womenetics: What motivates you personally to accomplish as much as you do?
Lunden: People sometimes ask me why I don't retire. And do what? I'm a very energetic person. Not that he's looking forward to it, but my husband says he wants to learn from my autopsy what chip I have that others don't. Having worked at GMA, I get the incredible opportunity to work on a lot of projects that come my way. You can choose to act on those opportunities or not. I'm really passionate about making a difference in people's lives.
Womenetics: Is aging in America changing?
Lunden: I'm part of the "sandwich" generation. I have seven kids. Three from my previous marriage are in their 20s. I also have five-year-old and seven-year-old sets of twins. I also take care of my 91-year-old mother who lives on the opposite coast from me.
We need a new game plan. The rules of aging are changing. We marry later, have children later, retire later, and live longer. We need to rethink what we always called our "golden" years. I would like to be a part of changing those rules. If we're going to have a long disease-free life, we need to proactively manage our health care.
Womenetics: Has your parenting approach changed over the years?
Lunden: I'm more patient and appreciative of what I have now. Maybe it's the been-there, done-that mentality. You're more confident of yourself and more successful financially. You're not as scared.
I had a party when my second set of twins was born. Some of my Type-A girlfriends saw the babies and the other set of twins who were running around wild. They said they were exhausted just looking at them. My European caterers saw the same situation and remarked that I would never grow old. I thought it was profound that two sets of eyes could view the same situation differently. One set saw it as exhausting while the other set thought it was exhilarating.
When you use a surrogate and in vitro, it's a choice, not an accident. I chose to have a very young, fun, noisy lifestyle. And it's wonderful. I think being a parent is the most challenging and rewarding job I've ever had.
Sylvia Small is a seasoned public relations practitioner, freelance writer, and photographer. Her work has been published in Southern Homes (Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles), Photo District News, Grit and numerous trade publications.
