“I’m really looking forward to being able to share another perspective of that same story,” Norman said of sharing her journey in an upcoming memoir.

Janai Norman wishes she got proper GMA send-off that ‘honored’ her connections after abrupt exit

"I'm really looking forward to being able to share another perspective of that same story," Norman said of sharing her journey in an upcoming memoir.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

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May 8, 2026 1:03 p.m. ET

Janai Norman. Credit:

Jacob Kupferman/ABC via Getty

- Janai Norman has revealed plans to open up about her time as a weekend anchor on *Good Morning America *in her upcoming memoir, *Breaking*.

- Norman abruptly exited the show's weekend edition in April after news broke that ABC declined to renew her contract.

- "I wish I'd had a sendoff that honored the connections that I had with so many of my coworkers, and most importantly, the viewers," Norman told PEOPLE in an interview published Friday.

Janai Norman is opening up about her abrupt departure from *Good Morning America** *in April.

The weekend anchor, who served as a co-anchor on the ABC morning show since 2022, confirmed that she had exited the series in a video message posted to her Instagram page to the shock of many of her followers. Her video was posted two days after reports emerged, via the daily newsletter Status, that her contract with ABC had expired and would not be renewed.

A source told PEOPLE at the time, "Janai has known since early March she wasn't going to be renewed and has been on the air for weeks, completely professional with no issues. But when the story leaked online, she was abruptly taken off the air. Her contract is not up until early May."

Reflecting on the surprise announcement, Norman admitted that she wished it had gone down differently.

"I wish I'd had a send-off that honored the connections that I had with so many of my coworkers, and most importantly, the viewers," Norman told PEOPLE in an interview published Friday, in which she also announced her upcoming memoir, *Breaking*. "But this [memoir] gets to take you behind the scenes of some of those years... I'm really looking forward to being able to share another perspective of that same story."

Cover of 'Breaking' by Janai Norman.

Norman joined *ABC News *as an intern in 2011 and helped launch the second hour of Saturday's *GMA* in 2019. Her co-anchors were Whit Johnson and Gio Benitez, alongside meteorologist Somara Theodore. Her departure came on the heels of ABC News sharing plans to adjust its morning programming lineup. The network restructured the *GMA3* spinoff hour last year, folding it into the main program with a rotation of hosts, including Lara Spencer, Sam Champion, and Benitez.

"I loved my time at ABC. It was such a gift. I had so much fun, so many incredible experiences, and it was such a dream come true for me," Norman told the outlet. "Because of the way my experience unfolded, viewers were there with me every step of the way."

Said journey is one that Norman plans to delve into when her book is published early next year, she shared. *Breaking* will examine Norman's experience navigating motherhood, mental health, and the world of daytime television.

A major turning point for the former *World News Now* co-anchor was the death of her paternal grandmother in the fall of 2022, shortly after she began her run as a *GMA *anchor. Norman shared that she had the "really bad idea" to cover a hurricane amid her grief, which further burdened her already overwhelmed sense of self.

"I was not equipped at all to handle what all that I'd been," Norman confessed.

Janai Norman on 'GMA Weekend' in 2025.

Heidi Gutman/ABC/Getty

When she returned home from her assignment, Norman shared that she began having suicidal ideations, which prompted her to check herself into a psychiatric unit. The broadcast journalist was ultimately diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

"That really shifted my relationship with so many aspects of my life, but especially with work," Norman said. "It really helped me separate my worth from my work. What I did for a paycheck was no longer tied to my sense of purpose. That was really the work of choosing myself and breaking news barriers and stigmas along the way."

Janai Norman reunites with former 'GMA' cohosts after abrupt exit

'GMA' weekend anchor Janai Norman confirms exit: 'I'm so sorry that I don't get to say goodbye'

It's a journey that Norman will explore in her memoir, and hopefully connect with those who resonate with the experience.

"Our society has made strides in the way that we think and speak about mental health and mental illness, but there's still so much stigma," Norman told PEOPLE. "Largely, as a society, I think we accept that most of us, at some point in our human existence, deal with some form of anxiety and depression, but there's still stigma around diagnoses beyond that."

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*Breaking* will be published on Jan. 5, 2027, and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

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