The Man I Never Met

May 28, 2018
ESPN sports analyst Schefter’s thoughtful though peculiar memoir tells his story of falling in love with the widow of a 9/11 victim, marrying her, and moving into her house. In part, Schefter’s memoir is a tribute to that man, Joe Maio, a Cantor Fitzgerald executive who died in the World Trade Center attacks. In 2005, Schefter, then a sports writer for the Denver Post, took a job with the NFL Network and relocated to New York City; he had a great job, but, at almost 40, he was “single, childless, and lost.” Over Memorial Day weekend in 2006, a mutual friend suggested Schefter call Sharri Maio, who had a six-year-old son; uncertain that he wanted to date a 9/11 widow, he nevertheless called Sharri and they went on their first date. In a short time they fell in love, got married, and Schefter moved into a “house in the suburbs with a wife, a child, and the memory of Joe.” Living in and working on the house, Schefter learned that Joe was a good father who set high professional goals for himself. In what at first comes across as a bizarre concept for a memoir, Schefter successfully communicates his joy in finding love and family, and in a friendship with a man he never knew.

July 1, 2018
The noted NFL insider recounts how he built a family with a 9/11 widow. Schefter (editor: The Class of Football: Words of Hard-Earned Wisdom from Legends of the Gridiron, 2009, etc.) met his future wife, Sharri Maio, just as he was starting to heal from a period of illness that had left him questioning his life path. Driven and successful, the once-divorced, 39-year-old author had been desperately seeking--and not finding--"the perfect relationship." His life changed forever when he decided to take a chance on a 9/11 widow and her young son. Their connection was immediate and profound--and complex. The first and most challenging complication was Sharri's dead husband, Joe, a man beloved and admired by all who knew him. On their first date, Schefter learned that Joe was still an abiding presence in Sharri's life and that he and Joe shared the same birthday. The second complication was Sharri's son: "She needed somebody who had chemistry with her and Devon." For the first time, Schefter was forced to consider the realities of a relationship and learn to accommodate a partner who "felt permanently tethered to [death]." Tentatively, the author made his way through this "new territory." On the first 9/11 anniversary they experienced together and for every 9/11 afterward, he sent her flowers. Schefter also became close to Joe's parents, who were still very much a part of Sharri's life. Despite a series of personal problems, including a difficult pregnancy, that beset the pair after they married, they grew beyond their differences and bonded through illness and other family tragedies, including the suicide of Joe's brother. Schefter's book is affecting not only for the story it tells of how the author learned to honor his wife's husband as "the fifth member of [his] family," but also for how it shows a man growing into a mature understanding of the true meaning of love and sacrifice.An unexpectedly moving memoir.

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September 1, 2018

Schefter, known nationally as one of the top NFL reporters, shares his family's deeply personal story in this book cowritten with Sports Illustrated senior writer Rosenberg (War As They Knew It). The central theme is how a family heals after the attacks of September 11, 2001. At the time, Schefter's wife, now Sharri Maio Schefter, was married to Joe Maio, with whom she had a 15-month-old son, Devon. On 9/11, Joe went to work and never returned home. Five years later, Schefter and Sharri married and began a new life. This memoir pays tribute to Sharri's first husband, Joe Maio, his family, and the difficulties of moving on after tragedy. While Schefter is a NFL reporter, this book only mentions Schefter's career in greater context of the account as a whole. It's a courageous story, and the Schefters tell it magnificently. VERDICT Highly recommended for all collections, this is a captivating account that readers won't be able to put down.--Pamela Calfo, Baldwin Borough P.L., PA

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