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A review by reviewsbylola
The Man I Never Met: A Memoir by Adam Schefter, Michael Rosenberg
5.0
With the exception of Netgalley reviews, I rarely review books on Goodreads (all books I read are, however, reviewed on Litsy.) That said, I found this memoir so powerful and touching that I feel compelled to offer a review.
Every year around September 11, I become a bit obsessed with reading news articles and reading books about the tragedy. My husband teases me because for a week or two, I am absolutely immersed in and haunted by and 9/11 information I can get my hands on. It's my way of paying homage to all the people that senselessly lost their lives that day.
I had actually moved on from my 9/11 reading frenzy when I got notification from my library that my hold for The Man I Never Met had come in. I went to pick it up a few days later and started reading it that night. By chapter 2, I had tears just running down my face. I cried on and off throughout the entire book, which I stayed up past midnight that night to finish.
Adam Schefter met and married Sharri Maio years after the 9/11 attacks. She told him immediately that she was a 9/11 widow, her husband Joe Maio having died after being trapped in the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald, and that she was raising a son who had been only 15 months old at the time of the tragedy. Adam detailed a bit of his background before meeting Sharri, and although his ideal partner was not a widow with a child, he was at that point desperate for a romantic companion to spend his life with and so had no qualms about going on a date with Sharri.
Adam and Sharri had a pretty whirlwind courtship. Adam was forthcoming about the struggles he and Sharri have faced over the years, and didn't try and sugarcoat the difficulties of stepping into the parent role when you have no child rearing experience. It was a perspective I could relate to, being a step parent myself, but it wasn't the aspect of this book that I found so powerful.
Adam Schefter is one of the most selfless people I have ever come across. The way he paid tribute to Joe Maio was so humbling and inspiring. He'd never met Joe, yet Joe has had one of the biggest impacts on Adam's life, and Adam chooses to honor Joe every day.
The last lines of TMINM brought me to tears, once again, and as I told my husband about the book the next morning, I was able to quote them from memory, they had impacted me that much. As I recited them, I started crying again (and I can promise that never has a book made me cry just by discussing it).
"I've lived in this house for twelve years now, far longer than Joe did. But every time I come home, I feel like I'm walking into Joe's house. And I am."
Every year around September 11, I become a bit obsessed with reading news articles and reading books about the tragedy. My husband teases me because for a week or two, I am absolutely immersed in and haunted by and 9/11 information I can get my hands on. It's my way of paying homage to all the people that senselessly lost their lives that day.
I had actually moved on from my 9/11 reading frenzy when I got notification from my library that my hold for The Man I Never Met had come in. I went to pick it up a few days later and started reading it that night. By chapter 2, I had tears just running down my face. I cried on and off throughout the entire book, which I stayed up past midnight that night to finish.
Adam Schefter met and married Sharri Maio years after the 9/11 attacks. She told him immediately that she was a 9/11 widow, her husband Joe Maio having died after being trapped in the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald, and that she was raising a son who had been only 15 months old at the time of the tragedy. Adam detailed a bit of his background before meeting Sharri, and although his ideal partner was not a widow with a child, he was at that point desperate for a romantic companion to spend his life with and so had no qualms about going on a date with Sharri.
Adam and Sharri had a pretty whirlwind courtship. Adam was forthcoming about the struggles he and Sharri have faced over the years, and didn't try and sugarcoat the difficulties of stepping into the parent role when you have no child rearing experience. It was a perspective I could relate to, being a step parent myself, but it wasn't the aspect of this book that I found so powerful.
Adam Schefter is one of the most selfless people I have ever come across. The way he paid tribute to Joe Maio was so humbling and inspiring. He'd never met Joe, yet Joe has had one of the biggest impacts on Adam's life, and Adam chooses to honor Joe every day.
The last lines of TMINM brought me to tears, once again, and as I told my husband about the book the next morning, I was able to quote them from memory, they had impacted me that much. As I recited them, I started crying again (and I can promise that never has a book made me cry just by discussing it).
"I've lived in this house for twelve years now, far longer than Joe did. But every time I come home, I feel like I'm walking into Joe's house. And I am."