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Jo Maeder

Author

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Recent Posts

  • 2020: The Ups and Downs, a New Year’s Eve Invitation, and Wedding Photos!
  • Q&A: Jill McCorkle on dolls, dollhouses, tiny objects and what they have to do with writing and life
  • How My French Work Exchange Journey Led to a New Life and Love
  • Chapter 1 of Zerk ‘Em and Pull the Push Rods: A Wry Squint at Aviation in the Mid-20th Century
  • The Tale of the Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder

Archives

The Tale of the Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder

May 24, 2018 by Jo Maeder 2 Comments

Let me explain why I was so determined to outwit the squirrels stealing birdseed from the wild birds I’d attracted to my yard. Of course they didn’t see it as stealing. It’s their natural right to snarf up anything they can. And boy are they smart. Ultimately though, I won this war. I was having […]

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Filed Under: Birds, Essay Tagged With: Deborah Rivel, Julie Zickefoose, Squirrel-proof bird feeder, The Bluebird Effect, Wildtones

What is the #1 way to increase happiness?

November 20, 2017 by Jo Maeder 4 Comments

Life is not a bowl of cherries for anyone. We must take the bitter with the sweet, we’re told. But some people seem to have an innate melancholy they can never shake. Studies now show that we stay at the same level of happiness our entire life. There’s only one thing that’s been proven to […]

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Filed Under: Essay, Family, Grief, Love, Medical, Relationships Tagged With: forgiveness, gratitude, happiness, hoarding, Thanksgiving Day

Zerk ’em: Another surprise in a pile of old family papers

November 8, 2017 by Jo Maeder Leave a Comment

In honor of Aviation History Month, Veteran’s Day, and my father’s birthday, I’m sharing a peek at a treasure I unearthed when his widow died. I was asked by her executor if I would like his papers. What papers?, I thought. When he passed she became obsessed with ballroom dancing and turned his office into […]

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Filed Under: Aviation, Blog, Essay, Family, Grief Tagged With: Aviation history 20th century, C.A.A., F.A.A., family history, George Weitz, the inspector

Beating the Odds: Finding Love at Any Age

November 6, 2016 by Jo Maeder 4 Comments

It was mid-January, 2014, still soon enough in the new year for the air to be charged with renewal and resolutions. My friend Rita had been in a long-term relationship with a wonderful man everyone adored. She adored him, too. But it had become more of a warm friendship than a romance. Her New Year’s […]

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Filed Under: Essay, Love, Relationships Tagged With: Love, single in mid-life, Unexpected Love

Behind NAKED DJ, the audiobook

October 10, 2016 by Jo Maeder Leave a Comment

  I’m so thrilled Rachel Butera has been nominated for a SOVAS Voice Arts Awards for her narration of NAKED DJ, as have I for my narration of WHEN I MARRIED MY MOTHER. Known as “The Oscars of Voice Acting” it’s indeed an honor. The awards ceremony is Nov 13, 2016 at the Warner Brothers […]

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Filed Under: Blog, Books by Jo, Essay, Pop Culture, Radio Tagged With: audiobook, Howard Stern, NAKED DJ, Rachel Butera, radio

Is Self-publishing Worth It?

June 25, 2016 by Jo Maeder Leave a Comment

I never dreamed in 2016 that I would see my little memoir’s audiobook up there next to blockbuster ones on Audible’s site. The hardcover version of When I Married My Mother (Da Capo Press) had been released in the spring of 2009, unintentionally timed six months after the devastating stock market crash. Everyone’s wallet was stapled […]

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Filed Under: Blog, Books by Jo, Essay, Maya Angelou, Writing Advice Tagged With: audiobooks, BookBub, indie publishing, Self-publishing

Mother’s Day without Mama

May 7, 2016 by Jo Maeder 4 Comments

This Mother’s Day, 2016, marks the eleventh one without Mama Jo. It’s always been tinged with sadness since her passing, but this one will be particularly hard. I recently completed reading and editing the audiobook of When I Married My Mother. I read it once. Didn’t like the way I did my mother’s parts. Re-read them […]

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Filed Under: Books by Jo, Dolls, Essay, Family, Grief, Love Tagged With: Gain, Loss, Mother's Day

Savory Smackdown

June 30, 2015 by Jo Maeder Leave a Comment

Does it ever seem like the Foodie Nation has gone cuckoo? You know, “Sand-blasted Galician shitake-nuanced gluten-free crostini made from stalactite flour grown on the moon.” What created this multi-layered/cultural obsession with food?, I asked Executive Chef Gregory Rollins, sitting next to me at the high-energy “Got to be NC” Competition Dining Series event we were […]

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Filed Under: Cooking/recipes, Essay, Pop Culture Tagged With: Graylyn chef Rollins, Graze, Jimmy Crippen, NC Competition Dining, Perky's Bistro

Buried words of wisdom

March 23, 2015 by Jo Maeder 6 Comments

  I’m going through two trunks of stuff related to a documentary I once tried to make about my aunt, Julie Arden, and her companion Charlotte Brooks. I’m determined to whittle it down to one big box. It should be easy. Just don’t look too closely. Keep the essentials. Toss, toss, toss. I find scraps […]

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Filed Under: Essay, Grief, Love, Relationships

Casey Kasem and His End-of-life Family Drama: How Can You Avoid Something Similar?

June 16, 2014 by Jo Maeder Leave a Comment

In 1997, I was honored to present a prestigious radio industry award to one of my heroes in the business, Casey Kasem. The sordid drama that unfolded around his death made headlines around the world. As author of the national bestseller WHEN I MARRIED MY MOTHER: A Daughter’s Search for What Really Matters – and […]

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Filed Under: Essay, Family, Pop Culture Tagged With: Alison Steele, Casey Kasem, dying with dignity, end-of-life family drama

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