The story of Adam Schefter's high-profile career as a sportswriter and analyst forms the backdrop of his memoir, The Man I Never Met. Schefter recounts how he began covering the Denver Broncos, later joined the NFL Network and ultimately wound up at ESPN. Despite his professional ascendancy, however, Schefter--an intense, driven, often over-anxious perfectionist--felt largely unfulfilled in his personal life. Upon reaching his late 30s, his career was taking off, but he was lonely and unable to meet and connect with that one special person with whom he could share his life and love.That quest is the centerpiece of his incredibly moving, forthright memoir, which details how he met, courted and eventually married Sharri Maio, a 9/11 widow and mother. Sharri lost her much-loved, charming and successful husband, Joe--who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald--in the World Trade Center attack. She had been having trouble moving on five years after Joe's death.
When a friend set Sharri and Schefter up on a blind date, Schefter was leery. He wasn't sure he--a workaholic bachelor--could deal with the magnitude of Sharri's loss or the fact that she was a mother to a son, Devon, who was only six when his father died. Despite clear differences in their personalities, Sharri and Schefter were instantly attracted to each other. Through a rather tumultuous courtship--and even during the early years of their marriage--both of their lives changed for the better, but not without struggle, stirring losses, hard work, compromise and acceptance.
"The story you are reading is not just about September 11," Schefter writes. "We all know what happened on September 11. This story is about September 12--and every day after. It is about finding happiness in the most unlikely places. Sometimes grief leads to love, sadness begets joy.... The worst days carry us toward some of the best."
A multifaceted love story emerges that details the growth of the relationship between Schefter and his new family. This includes a continuing, integral bond with Joe's parents, relatives and friends. When the couple conceive and welcome their own daughter, Dylan, the family dynamic must re-adjust and change again. In a spiritual, serendipitous sense, Schefter truly believes that Joe Maio--with whom he shares a birthday--was directly responsible for him finding the love of his life and finally having a family of his own.
Joe--the great man he was, what he stood for and his lasting influence upon a large circle of family and friends--anchors a narrative that noticeably maintains and preserves the privacy of Sharri and Devon and the depth of their personal feelings of grief and loss. Schefter, instead, chooses to focus on paying thoughtful homage to Joe Maio and all whose lives he touched, acknowledging his great admiration and respect for--and gratitude to--an absent man who is and will forever remain an active part in all of their lives. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines.
Shelf Talker: A noted sports' commentator shares the story of how he met and married a 9/11 widow with whom he shares his life and love.
Shelf Talker: A noted sports' commentator shares the story of how he met and married a 9/11 widow with whom he shares his life and love.