Daily Inspiration: Meet Jo Giese

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo Giese

Hi Jo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m an author. I wrote my first piece–about being Lonely–when I was in the third grader and lonely. Scholastic Magazine had requested its young readers submit stories. Since this was decades ago before we all had devices and knew how to type, my mother typed up my story. She changed some of my words, and I was very upset. Already, I felt I owned my own words and wanted them to appear exactly the way I wrote them.

In college I majored in American Studies and did my dissertation on Frank Lloyd Wright’s contribution to American architecture. I’d enjoyed writing the paper, and when I graduated I felt like the only thing I knew how to do was write. So I interviewed for a reporter’s job at the Houston Post where I was living at the time. The editor who hired me said, “We’ve never hired anyone without a Journalism degree, but we’ll give you a chance.”

I knew I wasn’t gonna stay in Texas, so after 6 months I cut out and moved to NYC where the possibilities were endless. I worked for magazines, newspapers, publishers, and PBS, WNET, WNBS-TV, NPR. I loved radio best, and enjoyed writing and recording my stories.

I’ve just finished writing my 4th book–You’ll Never Walk Alone: A Hiker’s Memoir of Adventure, Tragedy, and Defying the Odds–and when the publisher asked me who I wanted to record the audio, I said, I’ll do it! I like doing it!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I excelled at whatever I did and was always offered more work. The bumps in the road were mostly because I should have had a career coach. For example, when I was working at WNBC-TV News in NYC, Barbara Walters was leaving NBC and going to ABC. One of the executives asked me to audition for her job, A chance of a lifetime! Right? How did I handle that? I told him, I was leaving on a delayed honeymoon, so I’d do that when I got back. My job went to Jane Pauley, who obviously made the audition a priority.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Never Sit If You Can Dance: Lesson from My Mother

Keep Chasing Waterfalls: A Memoir of Adventure, Tragedy, and Defying the Odds

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jogiese.com
• Instagram: giese jo

Image Credits
I have the rights ot these images