Growing up in a boisterous and loving family with six sisters (in addition to two brothers) compelled Deborah Roberts to write a book exploring the “unbreakable bonds” shared by sisters.
The award-winning ABC senior national affairs correspondent and co-anchor of 20/20 discovered a built-in story based on her own family dynamics, and she expanded on this by featuring celebrity sisters, twin sisters, and regular folks with compelling stories to share.
The result is a lovely 286-page book, Sisters Loved and Treasured: Stories of Unbreakable Bonds, which hits shelves on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.
The book includes thoughtful, heart-warming, and incisive interviews (most of them conducted in pairs) with Jenna Bush Hager and her twin Barbara Bush, Michael Strahan’stwin daughters,IsabellaandSophia Strahan, Octavia Spencerand her sister, Grindle,Brooke Shields’ daughters Grier andRowan Henchy, Roberts and her four surviving sisters, and many more.
Using her signature style of extensive interviews and research, Roberts was inspired to write the new book after reading a study that revealed that sisters have a profound impact on our mental health.
“In other words, having a sister in your life boosts your dopamine, and all of those great hormones in your brain, and as a result, they boost your enthusiasm for life,” Roberts exclusively tells Parade. “Once I started talking to various people, everyone had a story of a sister; the closeness, the challenges, competition, rivalries, and victories,” she added. “All kinds of things that made this a topic worth exploring.”
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Among the surprises Roberts discovered from exploring this experience was how many sisters became emotional when talking about their relationships.
“Suddenly they started to talk about things that maybe they took for granted but had never really shared certain thoughts before,” she said.
Some of the emotional messages from the sisters interviewed: “Sisters hold you up,” “Sisters always have your back,” “I can’t imagine a world without you,” and “Having a sister is like having the best people to fight with and fight for,” “We are made of the same stuff” and as multi-Emmy-winning reporter Stacey Sager of WABC-TV New York, said, “My sister is my rabbi.”
Before writing Sisters Loved and Treasured, Roberts said she thought she was alone in not always feeling connected to her sisters, who are spread out in Texas, Florida and Georgia.
With her “hectic career,” she felt that she was not always the best sister to her siblings, but is working to improve that, noting, “Women are uniquely more intimate and I think more willing to go deeper than men, and the studies show that women benefit from opening up about and talking about how to work on their relationship.”
Tina Clarington, Bonita Jackson, Janet Davis, Deborah Roberts and Belinda SpellmanDeborah Roberts
She pointed to her youngest sister, Belinda, with whom she has had “little bumps here and there.” When they spoke for the book, she believes they opened up about their relationship. “As a kid, she told me she felt our mother loved me more and that she was a little jealous of me, something she understood as she had her own children,” Roberts explained. “I never thought that, but it touched me that she was honest enough to share that.”
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While women have their girlfriends with whom they have extremely close ties, the shared history is the key. “The beauty of all of this is that only sisters who were there from the beginning of your life and saw the good and the bad and have these unbreakable bonds.”
Among the stories in the book that Roberts wanted to discuss was about Jaclyn Fieburg, Meredith McIntyre and Stephanie Corritori, three Long Island sisters who shared with her that they would do anything for one another. “One of them was having infertility issues, so they put their arms around her; one offered to donate her egg, and the other offered to carry the baby,” Roberts said. “That was such a powerful story.”
Getting to know Brooke Shields’ daughters, Rowan and Grier, was a particularly enjoyable experience for Roberts. “It was a classic sisters’ story in which they were cutting each other off and finishing each other’s sentences,” she recalled. “Their story was a tribute to their mom, setting an example for them about being close and loving each other.”
Related: Brooke Shields’ Youngest Daughter Describes Feeling ‘Helpless’ Over Her Mom’s Vulnerable Admission
Sophia and Isabella Strahan
When it came to Michael Strahan’s twins, Sophia and Isabella, whose relationship was tested beyond belief when, in 2023, at age 19, Isabella was suddenly diagnosed with cancer, and Sophia rushed to her side.
It was amazing, Roberts said, “to hear their beautiful story of support for each other, but also their struggle. They were both in college, trying to make their way in life, and they also sounded so much like teenagers making jokes about taking each other’s clothes, jabbing each other, and also breaking into tears.”
True crime lovers are certain to want to know Roberts’ take on the long running ABC TV news magazine 20/20, which often explores current and cold cases, primarily focused on domestic violence.
“Most people who know me see me as a funny, happy and upbeat person,” she shared. “These stories are real downers and highly emotional. So, when I sit across from a mom who lost her daughter and wouldn’t stop fighting to finally bring her killer to justice, obviously, it is extremely difficult.”
She adds that there is an upside to this exploration. “I think more than anything else, I’m able to take a little bit of solace in these stories by shedding a light on domestic violence, a random crime or a crime about a young person in a college town who didn’t maybe follow her instincts and something happened,” she said.
She also feels gratified by the appreciation from family members and friends when a case concludes. “Afterward, when a family member says, ‘I so appreciate this, this was so much more meaningful than I thought it would have been sitting with you and telling this story,” she said. “It says to me that maybe we did something. We helped people highlight not only something difficult in their lives, but also honor and pay tribute to someone. So, that’s what brings me at least a little bit of satisfaction in doing these difficult stories.”
Related: 60 Sister Quotes That Will Make You Want To Call Her Right Now
Deborah Roberts and her husband, Al Roker, attend Project Healthy Mind’s World Mental Health Day Gala at Spring Studios in New York City.John Lamparski/Getty Images
When Roberts is not hard at work on her various TV, podcast and book projects, she is happy to be home with her husband, Al Roker. Roberts said that it is common knowledge that Roker, the popular Today show host, is a funny man who always finds the sunny side of life. But his wife of 30 years revealed, “My husband is also a real sentimental and emotional guy. And as much as you see him on air running around, he’s actually pretty shy.”
Another aspect of his personality is that Roker is “a homebody who’s quite romantic, who cooks all of our meals (tasty and healthy meals of fish and veggies) and loves to have a little surprise for me here and there.”
“Frequently, when I’m traveling, I’ll arrive, open my suitcase and find a little secret note that’s tucked away in there that he planted just for me to find,” Roberts revealed. “He’s a really sweet, lovely, thoughtful guy, and that shouldn’t be a surprise, but some people might be surprised by the depth of this.”
Sisters Loved and Treasured: Stories of Unbreakable Bonds, by journalist and author Deborah Roberts, was released on October 21. It is available wherever books are sold. 20/20 airs on ABC on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET. Roberts also hosts 20/20: The After Show podcast each week.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.