Before a signing last night for her new book, “Good-Enough Mother,� at Borders on Columbus Circle, Rene Syler, a Chappaqua resident and former co-host of the Early Show, sat down with me in the store’s café (between a wailing baby and a group of chatty Russian tourists). Syler, who looked great only a month after undergoing restorative breast implant surgery (she had a double mastectomy in January), leaves today (actually, left today) at 6:00 am on a book tour to Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, L.A., and San Francisco. She was eager to talk about lessons she’s learned getting the axe from CBS, having major surgery, and renovating her beautiful house—all in a matter of weeks.

But first, I had to ask, living in the land of endless after-school activities, helicopter parents, and college-hunting as a blood sport, how could she justify only being a good-enough mother?

Syler: I suppose in some circles it’s probably blasphemous to say, “I need time away from my kids and they need time away from me.� But, it’s what I truly believe. I think that my children learn and grow apart from me as I do from them. And it’s important that we spend time apart from each other so that we value the time we have together. In Westchester, there are the dreaded Super-Moms, which I talk about in the book. It’s not one person. It’s an amalgam of what I see. And my husband told me, you can’t write about them, we’ll never be invited to anything ever again. But I’m a big believer in practical parenting. I give my children what they need. They don’t need a home cooked meal every night if they know it’s going to stress me out. What they need is time and attention and love and support from me, which is what they give them.

Suburbarazzi: You’ve recently had two major surgeries, the first a double mastectomy in January and the second, a breast implant surgery in March. Can you talk about them? How do you feel now?

Syler: I feel amazing. I feel lighter. I feel happier. I feel like a weight is lifted off of me. I was getting mammograms every year. But in between mammograms I was also having sonograms and MRIs. So I was thinking about breast cancer all the time.

Listen, these breasts are not perfect. They’re not my real breasts. They’re firmer. They look great. But you know, I’ll never wear another bra again. So, it’s like, woo hoo. Talk about a 44-year-old woman who never has to wear a bra again, that’s not a bad thing. And the bigger issue is I don’t have the same worries I had.

Suburbarazzi: Can you explain why you decided to have the double mastectomy even though you didn’t have cancer?

Syler: I did it for my kids and for me because I love my life and I want to live. And that’s not to say I was going to get breast cancer. But I didn’t want to be behind the 8-ball fighting it. I had big time family history [both her mother and father had breast cancer] I had hyperplasia [the stage right before breast cancer]. I just thought, it’s too great a risk.
After the break, Syler discusses Elizabeth Edwards. staying positive even while getting fired from The Early Show, co-hosting The View later this month, and those unfounded rumors she was ditching Chappaqua.

Suburbarazzi: How long were you in the hospital for after your surgery?

Syler: Three days. When I came home, my 8-year-old son had these big, sad eyes because I had these drains sticking out of my arms and I had a big industrial size bra and I looked like Franken-mommy. He looked at me and said, “Mom, I think you did the right thing.� And I said, “Really, buddy?� And he said, “Yeah. You know, people die from breast cancer.� It was important to him and it was important to me to take this step so that I can stay in their lives much longer and that’s what I plan to do.

Suburbarazzi: What do you make of the controversy with Elizabeth Edwards, about whether she should be out campaigning with her husband when she’s sick and has two young children?

Syler: First of all, I feel that anyone who’s not in her position should be a little bit guarded about what they say and how they say it. Because they don’t know. I sort of brace myself for some negative comments because my surgery was controversial. You’re taking away breast tissue that is ostensibly healthy. But the thing with Elizabeth Edwards is, first and foremost, my heart breaks whenever I hear anyone who has a cancer diagnosis. I’ve been involved with it for a long, long time, and it literally breaks my heart. Number two, I’d say, having had parents who were diagnosed with cancer, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean you stop living so you can start dying. And that’s what I feel she was essentially trying to say, that “I’m going to continue to live my life. I’m going to continue to do what I feel is right for me and what’s right for my family,” and you know what, far be it for anyone to question her or judge. You have to trust yourself instinctively that you’re going to do the right thing.

Suburbarazzi: You’ve been very open about what you’ve been through. Did you have any trepidation about that?

Syler: No, because I always wanted to educate. I had always been outspoken about breast cancer when I was an anchor. This was just another step in the evolution of me that I was able to share it with people, to be as open and honest about it, to show women they have options. I didn’t actually think about not going public with it. In fact I was working on a story about it for the Early Show when I got fired.

Suburbarazzi: Speaking of, it seemed like you handled your exit from the show so gracefully.

Syler: You know why that was, I didn’t know what else to do. What’s the purpose of throwing flames on your way out? Why? Why? And the bigger issue is I was really focused on staying healthy and staying strong. I knew I had the surgery. My family needed me. And I just did not see the value of being a jerk on the way out the door. This business is about that big [she puts her index finger and thumb together] and you see the same people around and around and around. And you know what? People remember you for how you went out not how you came in.

Suburbarazzi: What was your favorite part about your time on the show?

Syler: I’m an information junkie. And I love that type of television. It was a very well rounded job. You had the hard news and you had the feature-y type of stuff. It was entertaining as well as informative. I loved it. I loved the balance. It’s how I live my life. I try to smile about things. People said to me when I would joke about having my breasts cut off, “How can you make jokes?” You know what, because there were parts I had to laugh about, otherwise I’d be a mess. I always do that. When I was being fired, when [CBS News president Sean McManus] said, “This really hurts me to say,â€? I was like, “Not as much as it hurts me to listen to it.” Even at that really critical moment in life, as horrible as it was, I was still able to dig deep and find something to joke about.

Suburbarazzi: It was a third place show when you got there. Was it a hard situation to go into?

Syler: Not really. Television is difficult. I suspect there were challenges being a third place broadcast. But all I know is when the red light comes on I did the same thing no matter what place the show was.

Suburbarazzi: And you’ll be on The View soon?

Syler: Yeah!

Suburbarazzi: I think they could use you over there. They need someone with newswoman gravitas.

[She laughs]

Syler: I’m looking forward to it. Everybody wants to say…I’ve seen it written several times, “Oh, she’d be great for that job. And she really wants it.� You know what? I’m going in for one day. And that’s how I’m looking at it. I’m going in for one day and I’ll do my best. And you know what, let the chips fall where they may. Everyone wants to know what am I going to do next. This experience taught me it’s futile to plan. I didn’t expect when I was planning out the map of my life that I’d be fired from my job and have my breasts removed in five weeks.

Suburbarazzi: Are you planning on staying in New York?

Syler: Yes, absolutely. Somebody wrote that my family and I were back in Dallas and I was like, “I’m not in Dallas!� We love it here. We love New York. Plus, my kids are at an age when I really can’t be uprooting them much more. My daughter’s going into middle school. So, no we won’t be moving anytime soon. Plus, we only began renovating our house 4 months ago.

Suburbarazzi: What’s that involve?

Syler: We’re adding about 1,500 square feet and we’re changing things out a bit. Right now we’re living in a dungeon. I tell my husband, “Why is it so dark in here? Can we not have lights?� The other day ABC was over [for an interview]. They plugged in a bunch of lights and the whole kitchen went dark.

Suburbarazzi: How did you find Chappaqua originally when you came to New York?

Syler: We knew we wanted to live in Westchester. I would take the train up to Westchester. I’d take the New Haven Line. Then I took the Harlem line. When I got to Chappaqua, I stepped off the train and I looked at the downtown, and I was like, “I love it here.� I felt like it was the kind of place where I could be just a normal person. And so that’s how we chose it. I love it.

Suburbarazzi: Was that pre- or post- Bill and Hillary?

Syler: Post.

Suburbarazzi: Have you ever run into your neighbors?

Syler: You know what, I haven’t. But everybody else has. My babysitter has. My neighbors have. But I’ve never seen them. Ever.

(Photo: Tom Nycz / The Journal News; AP Photo/Mel Evans)