Ginger Zee Talks Mental Health, Her New Book and GMA

Ginger Zee Good Morning America

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EPISODE SUMMARY:

Ginger Zee is an author, Emmy-award winner, and chief meteorologist for GMA who has used her to story to inspire others and highlight important conversations surrounding mental health struggles. In today’s episode, we sat down with Ginger to discuss her newest book, A Little Closer to Home, advice for processing trauma, her experience growing up with divorced parents, and the importance of seeking help when you’re struggling.

First, we asked Ginger how she manages to balance the hectic schedule of being a meteorologist and a mother of two children. After jokingly telling us how her only times of rest are when she falls asleep during a movie, Ginger explained her busy routine. Every day, she wakes up between 3:45 A.M. and 4:15 A.M. to get ready for work. After 20 years of being a meteorologist, she said that it has never gotten easier waking up so early. However, she attributes her ability to maintain such a schedule to her husband, who helps her not only with starting her day but also taking care of their children. Along with being a mother and meteorologist, Ginger is also an author. Her second book, A Little Closer to Home, delves into personal details about her traumatic experiences. When asked why she chose to write another book, she told us that after receiving such positive responses to her first book, she wanted to continue to share her story. Her second book is not only about her struggles but how she healed from them, and she hopes readers take away tips on how to begin their own journey of healing.

For advice on processing trauma, Ginger emphasized that while everyone’s journey is different, it is important to face your trauma as soon as you can. Rather than pushing feelings down, by talking about trauma with others, you can begin to heal and grow. Sharing trauma also connects people who have been through the same things and builds a community of mental health support. Ginger believes that by compartmentalizing her own feelings and having a lack of identity, she could not process her trauma, contributing to her mental health struggles and eventual suicide attempts. She told us that it’s important to build a positive self-identity from a young age, a lesson she wants to instill in her own children. When her kids make a mistake, she makes sure to tell them that a mistake does not define their life.

Ginger grew up as a child of divorce, and she explained to us that balancing having divorced parents was a challenge. She always felt like one parent was far away, even if they never lived further than 30 minutes from one another. On Christmas Day, Ginger and her sibling would go live with their father, and then return to their mother’s house on Easter. Between the two holidays, Ginger would alternate houses once a week and every other weekend. The experience was difficult for her to go through as a child, especially when both of her parents got remarried and started having more children, and she told us that she’s glad to see a difference in how divorce is handled today. Having friends who are divorced, she has seen firsthand how coparenting can be handled in a way that is easier and less traumatic on the child. An experience that has been healing for Ginger is having her parents not only acknowledge her pain but apologize for it. Hearing them admit that it was a difficult time was validating for Ginger to hear and helped her process and heal from it. We also asked Ginger about advice when asking for help, and she told us that the first thing to do is understand that it’s not easy. Finding the right fit for help can take a while, and she even hopes to see even more resources in the future for people to find specialized help.

Ginger is someone who has struggled with compartmentalizing her trauma, and when asked how she overcame it, she said that it’s important to take the necessary time to acknowledge your trauma. You have to face it and let it out, and for an easy and inexpensive way to do so, Ginger suggested writing down your experiences. It is also helpful to have someone to open up to, whether that be a loved one, friend, professional, or even a stranger willing to listen. Everyone should have access to proper mental health care and should be committed to not only their physical wellbeing but their mental wellbeing as well.

Finally, we asked Ginger about her experience checking into an in-patient treatment center. She told us that at the time, she was in an abusive relationship and wanted to feel safe. However, after entering the in-patient treatment center, she realized that she was running not only from the abuse but also from herself. Treatment made her realize how much power she truly had and to learn to prioritize herself. She also spoke to us about having open conversations with loved ones and close friends about mental health. It is important not only for you to share your feelings but for others to feel safe sharing their thoughts too.

Ginger Zee

Ginger Zee is the chief meteorologist at ABC News, reporting on the nation’s weather for “Good Morning America” and across ABC News broadcasts and digital platforms. Additionally, Zee is the managing editor of the climate unit at ABC News.

Since joining ABC News, Zee has covered almost every major weather event and dozens of historic storms. She broadcasted from the devastated Jersey Shore during Hurricane Sandy, the Colorado floods and wildfires, and covered the aftermath from tornados in Moore and El Reno, Oklahoma. In 2018, she was in the eye wall of Category 5 Hurricane Michael live in the

Florida Panhandle and in the 2020 hurricane season, Zee told the stories of devastation from the record number of named storms. From the epic bushfires in Australia to Boston blizzards and record-breaking heat in Death Valley, Zee is there to warn and show the impacts including the relationship to climate change.

Zee’s passion does not stop with storm chasing. Her love of adventure has taken her and ABC News viewers across the world. She has gone para-hawking in Nepal, flown a drone into the fissure of a volcano in Iceland, hiked the largest cave in the world in Vietnam, para-glided from the Himalayas to the Andes, dove with sharks in the Bahamas, rappelled 27 stories down the exterior façade of the Wit Hotel in Chicago, explored the 275 waterfalls of Iguazú Falls in Argentina and talked climate change on the edge of Victoria Falls in Africa. Plus, skydiving, ice boat racing and surfing live on “GMA.”

Prior to joining ABC News, she was a meteorologist at NBC station WMAQ-Channel 5 in Chicago from 2006-2011, also filling in for several NBC and MSNBC News programs. Before that assignment, Zee worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she part of the Storm Team 8, also covering the environment, science and the impact of weather throughout

West Michigan. From 2003-2005, Zee worked at WEYI NBC 25 in Flint, Michigan. She began her career at WLAV FM/ WXMI in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Zee, who has storm chased since college, has a genuine passion for the atmosphere and a dedication to getting young people interested in science. Zee is the author of a trilogy for 8–12-year-olds [called “Chasing Helicity.” Additionally, Zee and her husband, Ben Aaron, star in “Renovation Realities: Ben & Ginger” on DIY Network.

Zee is the co-host of Hearts of Heroes on ABC Saturday’s, highlighting the natural disasters she knows so well from the first responder and heroes’ point of view.

The Emmy Award-winning meteorologist attended Valparaiso University and holds a Bachelor of Science in meteorology. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University from 2008- 2011. Zee also holds the CBM Seal for Meteorology.