Jen Maxfield Is A Human Being First, A NYC Reporter Second - Plus An Author Too. Hear Why She Says She HAD TO Revisit 10 Unforgettable Stories

Jen Maxfield is an Emmy-award winning reporter and anchor who’s covered New York and New Jersey for two decades, currently for NBC New York. Maxfield’s first book, More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories was published by Greenleaf Book Group in July of 2022. More After the Break was an instant Amazon bestseller. In her book, Maxfield revisits the most memorable stories she has covered during her TV news career.

Jen shares her top life tips for 20-somethings, and takes us on a vicarious joyride through her TV news career, including the most mystifying job interview she’s ever been on, which included speaking in French and the capital of Australia.

Sh*t I Wish I Knew In My Twenties (SIWIKIMT) is a podcast dedicated to helping 20-somethings thrive in their twenties, not just survive.

Host Debra Alfarone knows how tough being in your twenties can be. As a high-school dropout turned-network-TV-correspondent, she learned most of life’s lessons the hard way. She overcame the odds and now covers the White House for CBS News nationally. She’s also a confidence coach for young women in the TV news industry.

Connect with Jen on IG at @jenmaxfieldnews and buy her best selling book at More After the Break.

Transcript:

Debra Alfarone:

Thanks for listening to BEEP I wish I knew in my 20s This podcast is hosted by me. Debra Alfarone, a former high school dropout turned network TV correspondent. Yeah, I'm pinching myself too. I had no mentors. I had no big sister, nobody to show me the way. So now that I've got my life together (debatable) I want to pour into you to help you not just survive, but thrive in your 20s Today's guest is author and Emmy award-winning TV news reporter and anchor for NBC in New York. Jen Maxfield. You wrote a book!

Jen Maxfield:

Debra, thank you so much for having me on. And yes, I know, sometimes when I see it, I still can't believe it myself.

Debra Alfarone:

I have it right there. It's right behind me. And I just brought it with me on vacation. It was the one book that I wanted to read.

Jen Maxfield:

That means so much to me. Thank you.

Debra Alfarone:

You're so welcome. I mean, I do have a whole bunch of them too. So just you know, just to make you really feel good, what made you decide to write it?

Jen Maxfield:

I had been wanting to write a book for a while. And really what fueled me to write this book, More After the Break is genuine curiosity, my own curiosity about what happened to the people I covered on the news. Look, Debra, you know, when we cover people, we interview them. We rush to make our deadlines, the clock is always ticking, right? And we never feel like we get to spend enough time with people, especially those really impactful emotional stories where we're starting in the morning, it’s airing on the news that night, live truck pulls away, and that's it. And so the 10 people whom I feature in my book are people whom I felt like their stories deserved more. And for one reason or another, I had continued thinking about them through all these years, even decades, after I first reported those stories on the news.

Debra Alfarone:

I mean, you must have interviewed 1000s and 1000s and 1000s.

Jen Maxfield: 

I estimate I've interviewed more than 10,000 people, because I've been reporting for 22 years. And yeah, I mean, some of it look, some of it is hey, what do you think about that new red light camera on the corner near your house. And that's important too. But then the people featured in this book are the ones and I know you have people like this in your head to Debra, where you've interviewed them over the years and even though it may be quite some time since you've last seen them something about them you keep thinking about.

Debra Alfarone:

There are so many people who live rent-free in my head for years and years, and you do show up on people's worst days and best days.

Jen Maxfield: 

We're not doctors, right? We can't heal them. We're not police, we can't make an arrest, but we are with them. And we are helping them tell their story to the broader community. And I would also say that when I approached the people whom I write about in my book, I wasn't necessarily expecting to be welcomed with open arms. And I wondered if I owed some of the people an apology. And I wondered sometimes if they regretted being on the news and sharing their story publicly. But it was incredibly refreshing and reassuring to know that even though some of the conversations I had with people were certainly complicated, having the benefit of context and hindsight now all these years later, so much has happened in their lives and a lot of it is because their story received attention. And then they got that support reflected back to them from the community.

Jen Maxfield: 

I'm fortunate to have several 20-somethings who I mentor. I'm an adjunct professor at Columbia Journalism School. And I love teaching graduate students and then also staying in touch with them after graduation, writing the recommendation for their first job, asking them to send me clips and it makes me so proud as their professor to watch them move ahead in their careers. It's really exciting and invigorating.

But yeah, I mean, my advice to my students is to be yourself, be your authentic self and never let go of that. And in being your authentic self, you know, have that reflected in the way that you correspond and the way that you interact with people that you're interviewing. Because to me that really is what makes a good story. I mean, I say in my book, I'm a human being first and a journalist second. But I'm not suggesting that those two things are in conflict. I truly believe that being an empathetic person makes you a better journalist, because we're telling people's stories, people are trusting us with their stories. And when we can step into their shoes, and try to understand what they're going through, I do think we wind up reporting a better story for the public and asking those more sensitive questions.

And look, people who are listening who are in their 20s, good for you, because you have grown up with a camera on your phone. So, you've grown up on FaceTime, you've grown up watching YouTube, you have such an intrinsically better sense of what makes a good story visually than I certainly did. Right, I'm 45 years old. And I think it does not come as naturally to me, as it does to people who are younger, because this has just been part of your life, throughout being on camera in some sort of way. And I also think that the younger generation, as news consumers expect more authentic storytelling, they don't want to see you just try to imitate what you've seen in the past, they want to see that authentic storytelling.

So yes, and finally, the last thing I would say to a reporter in his or her 20s, who's listening, is really to listen as much as we talk. And as much as that is a big part of our role, I think, actually a great strength for good reporters to be a good listener, and to really listen to what people are saying to you, and not just run down that list of questions. But actually make it a conversation between you and your interview subject and try to find a mentor. I do think that mentorship is super important. And I always say that I learned more from my Columbia students than they ever learned from me.

Debra Alfarone: 

This career can mess with your head. And I will even say, after all these years of doing this, there are times that I think, I don't know, am I good at this? Am I doing okay? And so I wonder, did you ever have a crisis of confidence when you were in your 20s? Because to look at you, you know, when people look at us and go, Wow, you've got this level of success. You have a book, this book is right here on my shelf. But did you ever wonder, Am I doing okay, am I going to be okay?

Jen Maxfield: 

I am so glad that you asked this question. Because I do think that it's critical for us to talk about not just the successes, right, but some of the failures and the setbacks along the way. Because otherwise, just like I was just talking about, we're not giving you that full, authentic story. So I think this is the perfect time to tell you about my first job search. So I finished up I got my master's degree at Columbia Journalism School. And at the time, I'm sure you remember this. We didn't have YouTube or videos, we actually had to send out your VHS.  You'd have to make copies of the VHS tape and send them out.

Debra Alfarone: 

I have mine somewhere here. I do. I kept it. It's got dust on it, obviously.

Jen Maxfield: 

Yeah, I feel like the label on mine is yellowed. But anyway, I would sit there on that deck to deck VHS player, and copy after copy after copy in real time, by the way, it took forever. So I made 65 copies of this thing. And I thought it was great. I put my name label on it, email, phone number, sent it out, by the way to great expense, it was expensive to mail tapes.

Debra Alfarone:

It was like $8 a tape and then to buy the tapes too. Great, I remember this very well.

Jen Maxfield: 

Yeah, it's I know, it's really a painful, painful memory. But anyway, so I sent out these 65 tapes, and I'm just waiting for the calls to roll in. I send them out to news directors at different stations around the country, not the top 20. But you know, some decent-sized markets and some small ones. And I did not get a single call back not one, zero calls, zero emails. What am I going to do? Talk about a crisis of confidence.

I've now been, I've got my master's degree from Columbia. I've been working at CNN, I've got this resume tape, I want to go out and start reporting stories somewhere. And nobody is interested in having me work for them. So I called Gigi Stone, who is a couple of years ahead of me at Columbia Journalism School. She's now on MSNBC. And I said what do I do? And she gave me this great advice which was, get in your car, go to a part of the country where you're interested in working and call the news directors once you're there and say, Hi, I just happened to be in -insert small city name here-. Do you have five minutes to meet with me? And that's how I got my first job in Binghamton, New York, I was actually driving to Binghamton, New York, by the way, which is the 154th largest TV market in the country. Wow. And that's how I got my first job back in July of 2000, but yeah, there were some really painful days there where I just wondered, I had put all this time and energy into this dream. And it seemed like I wasn't able to get through the door even.

Debra Alfarone: 

You know, Gigi, really, we have to thank her because you wouldn't have known to do that. And there's so many little things like that in this business. You just don't know how to do these things until someone tells you to go do it. I literally have, it's in my closet right here. It was a tape that I had sent to my old news director like four news directors ago. Dave Feuerman at News 12 Connecticut, it still is not opened. I learned later on when I showed up one day I said, Hey, I'm gonna be there. You know, I'm going to be in the neighborhood. If you haven't found my tape, like, I can always drop another one off. Well, he did end up hiring me freelance there. And I worked there for a few years. But years later, I'm sitting in his office and I see the tape. He never opened it. It was in a pile, a slush pile on the floor. It's just so tough. It's a tough business. You started in Binghamton. Where did you go next?

Jen Maxfield: 

So after Binghamton, I went to Syracuse, New York, which is the 83rd largest TV market in the country. And then I was fortunate enough, after that to get a big break, and I started at Eyewitness News in New York. And I was there for 10 years. And after that, the last nine and a half years, I've been at NBC in New York.

Debra Alfarone: 

What was going through your head when you got that opportunity? Eyewitness News? I mean, I can imagine, how did you celebrate, that's the number one station. And the number one market it was at the time.

Jen Maxfield: 

It still is. And it was very fortunate because they needed a New Jersey reporter. And I grew up in New Jersey. And so the timing was perfect. Where I could just come right in and hit the ground running already knowing a lot about New Jersey. So that was really helpful.

And yes, I did celebrate a lot. And I also showed up to my first day of work at Eyewitness News. I was 25 years old. I was scared to even tell people how old I was. And then people would start asking me at news conferences. How old are you? And I was, oh, I'm in my late 20s. Now at age 45. I'm not lying about my age anymore. But you know what, there's that saying, what is it, dress for the job you want not the one you have. I mean, you could just insert the verb act - act like the job you want, although I did have it at that time, but I really just felt like you fake it till you make it. And so I went out there and I held my head high. And I yelled louder than anybody else, the questions at news conferences, and I just charged ahead.

And I also credit, you know, my initial couple months and even really years that I wouldn't excuse the fact that I was able to get those stories and feel comfortable with the photographers who I worked with. And I really think my book is, also, in many ways, a love letter to news photographers, who, as you know, are our partners at every scene, we have each other's backs, their names are not on TV, their faces are not on TV, but they really do deserve equal credit. And when I was working for Eyewitness News, I worked with some incredible veteran news photographers. And I was always very open to their suggestions and listened to them and learned from them. And I do think that that made all the difference in the beginning, just knowing that they had my back.

Debra Alfarone: 

There is something really special about New York City news photographers, also, I've worked in a couple of different markets. But I'll tell you, I am still close with some of the people I worked with there. And I was just talking to Lisa Mateo the other day about this one guy, we worked with Fred, Fred could find a corn muffin in any city, any borough, any like any town, he could find the best corn muffin, and you can be in some hairy situations in New York. So you really do have to be a team. That has been incredible.

Jen Maxfield:

Yes. So and even on those days, right, when you do the tough interviews, and you feel sad afterwards, and you want to talk about these emotions that you're feeling because you're adjacent to all this tragedy and chaos, covering these stories. I've always really valued that relationship with the photographer where we could just take a couple of minutes in the live truck and just talk a little bit and debrief about what we just experienced together. And I think that's also made a huge difference through the years just in terms of my emotional ability to keep doing this work.

Debra Alfarone:

It takes a toll on you. It really does. And I think working in D.C. also with the political landscape, it takes a toll on me after a while. You've been doing this for a while in the number one market where so many things happen. Looking back, you were 25 when you started working in New York, what advice would you would 45-year-old Jen give 25-year-old Jen?

Jen Maxfield:

Well, definitely to not view the reporters and photographers from other stations as competitors. But to view them more as colleagues, of course, we all want the exclusive interview. And we're all looking for the proprietary information on a story. And that's fine. That's part of the job. But let's face it, once you get to the number one media market, it really is a marathon, not a sprint. And some days, you're going to be late to the scene and other days, they're going to be late to the scene. And there's nothing wrong with having that collegial relationship where you feel as though you can be helping each other out and at least pointing each other in the right direction or saying, No, it's on this block, not that block, or don't talk to that person, they just yelled at me, or let's go knock on the door together, because there’s safety in numbers.

And I did learn that very fast in New York. And I wrote a post recently where I talked about how there really is something special about the New York media market, where people genuinely do feel like the people from the other stations and the other newspapers and magazines and radio stations are their colleagues, not as much their competitors.

So that's one thing and I think the other advice that I would have given myself is that I think the way I viewed my career in my 20s was more as an individual, right? Where I felt like, Okay, well, it's my face on TV, and I'm writing the story. And I'm kind of moving through my professional life. And I'm trying to do the best job I can. And I think in some ways, I had blinders on to the larger community of news reporters, or even professional women. And I think I would have done more networking in my 20s. And also probably would have sought out more mentors in my 20s. I certainly had some mentors who I encountered on the job. But I would have been more purposeful about that. Because one of the things that I didn't understand at the time, but that I think is good advice for someone who's coming up now is that the business itself will change. And we see that happening now with news, right? I mean, the way we're reporting news, and just the trends of how people are consuming news, are completely changing. And if you have a really solid network, and people from different stations and even different industries, I think that you give yourself more options. And you also just have a greater knowledge about the larger picture and not so much your individual story every day.

Debra Alfarone:

That is some important advice, because we do have tunnel vision. And I think now that I spend my time half doing TV and half running my business, I'm realizing that, and sometimes I think back No, oh, I think I met that person. And I remember though, but we never established a connection, because I didn't think it was important at the time.

Jen Maxfield: 

That's exactly right. And I also think it's easy to have blinders on in this business, because of the intense pressure of the deadline. And I mean, what other jobs. sure there are other jobs, but it's unique that every single day in local news, we have to put stories out on the air, you can't just call the assignment desk and say, oh, sorry, we didn't get anything on this today. You have to deliver every single day. And I think that that that pressure on yourself, and certainly the photographer you're working with, it just makes it hard to see the bigger picture of the industry, and other things happening around you. But yeah, so I certainly do that more now. But I wish I had done it sooner and built out that network earlier in my career.

Debra Alfarone:

In writing your book, Jen, what was the biggest surprise to you?

Jen Maxfield: 

Well, I went into these interviews, asking people to not think that any detail was too small. And certainly having the luxury of time to just sit with families and interview them multiple times, and not have to run out to the live truck to make that deadline. So part of what was surprising to me was just peeling away some of those emotional layers of myself, right, we kind of have to build up that armor over the years where it's not that you're not sympathetic to what people are going through, but you have a really important job to do. And if you don't leave their living room in time, the community's not hearing the story. So being able to take a step away from that was really a luxury.

And then the other surprising thing about writing the book, what I found incredibly fulfilling and that I hope other journalists learn when when they read the book is that it's just the power and the impact of the stories we do. Because we're always rushing off to the next story. And because we don't continue to return to the stories over the years, we don't really understand sometimes what happens to people, for example, I mean, Darren Drake, for example. He's the subject of chapter six of my book. He was riding his bike on the pedestrian path in lower Manhattan on Halloween in 2017. And he was struck and killed by a terrorist, by someone who had rented a truck to kill people in lower Manhattan and intentionally drove it on that pedestrian path. And that was such a tragedy, this wonderful young man and I interviewed his parents, the day after it happened if you can imagine that. I spoke with his father. And here we are now, almost five years after that happened. The parents have started a foundation in his memory. There is a bill that has already passed in the House of Representatives and is waiting to be voted on in the Senate that would make it more difficult for people to rent trucks, if there was a suspicion that they were going to use it for something like this. And here are these parents who are now giving out scholarships, and they've done all of this in their son's memory. And that sort of thing is really important.

And even Paul Esposito who survived the Staten Island Ferry crash, I interviewed Paul in 2003, almost 19 years ago. And here's Paul today, he lost both legs in the ferry crash. And he's thriving. He's an advocate for other people with disabilities. He's living this beautiful life in Florida. And when I interviewed him from his hospital bed, two days after this 24-year-old lost both his legs, I just could never have imagined the way his story would end up. And so it was so joyful for me to hear about these people and be inspired by them. But we all face adversity in our lives, right? But to see the way the people whom I featured in my book have triumphed over that. I think there's a lesson in there for everybody to hear these stories.

Debra Alfarone:

The treatment that you've given these stories really fills my heart with joy, because I've wondered about Paul Esposito for many years. He's one of the first stories that I covered. I was a cub reporter back then. But I remember that Staten Island Ferry crash and just how horrific it was. I had no idea what I was doing. I did not understand. I mean, I was new to news. And I was trying to figure it all out. But his story really stayed with me. And so you've given me the answer that I have wanted. All these years, I've been wondering what I really, some people just stay with you, too. What do you attribute, your tenacity, your positivity, and really also just the way that you treat your stories, you really treat them with incredible respect.

Jen Maxfield:

Well, thank you, I have to give credit to my parents here. So I'm the oldest of six children. And so the house I grew up in was very chaotic and fun. And a lot of things were always happening. And so maybe that's why I like news, because my house was so unpredictable and loud, growing up, but my parents would always tell us to treat other people the way we wanted to be treated. That was a big mantra in the house. And I do think that I've carried that with me through my career.

And the other thing they always told us which I share with my own children, is to never sit on the sidelines. So when you see something happening, get involved. When you see someone who needs help you go help and volunteer, they would always and they really showed us that through their own actions in the community. And as far as my tenacity, I mean, again, I go back to my dad, my dad, he would not call himself a feminist. However, he did start the first soccer league for girls in my town when I was growing up so I and my sisters could play team sports, team soccer in the town where I grew up in New Jersey. And he was really ahead of his time, as far as also always telling us and showing us to be fearless and go out there. And he expected the same thing from his daughters and from his sons. And that was always the message we had. And I think that the way that I was raised, we were never focusing on our appearance or what clothes you're wearing. It was always about, how are you doing in sports? And how are you doing in school and sort of how are you treating other people, it was always really based on those sorts of things, those values, and that's the way I was raised. And I do carry that into my work to this day. And I'm very thankful.

Debra Alfarone:

And you have three children as well? I sure do. And I'm sure you pour all of that into them.

Jen Maxfield:

I do I mean, I'll tell you an interesting story. So having for the last 22 years been the person in my house, who was running off to cover the hurricane or going to work still in New York City throughout COVID while everybody else was staying home. I really got a taste of my own medicine. This past spring, my husband and my 15-year-old son went to Poland and Ukraine on a humanitarian mission three months after Ukraine was invaded by Russia and my husband and son are part of a group from my synagogue that brought over humanitarian aid and supplies, they were in charge of bringing diapers, which really tells you about who the victims of war are, right? But so in the first place, I was really proud of them. And I think it exemplifies what my parents taught me about not sitting on the sidelines. And I also learned that it's much harder to be the person at home than it is being the person going out and doing the thing. Because when they were in, you know, Poland and Ukraine and at the border, I, those days felt really long to me. And I kind of got a sense of what it was like for my family, to have me running out into danger all these years, and they were home. But yeah, so I do think that I've passed down those values to my kids.

Debra Alfarone: 

Going back to your 20s, do you have a worst job? Worst date? Worst outfit? Or worst hairdo that you wouldn't mind sharing with us?

Jen Maxfield: 

Oh, boy, I have a really good worst interview story.

Debra Alfarone:

Oh, okay. I'm all ears. Okay.

Jen Maxfield: 

So this happened. I was in between my I was finishing up in Binghamton. And I was hoping to get a job closer to New York City. Okay, so I got an interview with News 12. And I don't remember who it was with. But so the interview starts, and oh, and by the way, I met my husband in a college class when I was 20. So he and I are doing this whole long-distance relationship thing from Binghamton. And so it was, there was sort of high stakes for this interview for News 12. Because I thought, well, how wonderful that would be for my personal life, to be able to come back to the New York City area and not have to go back and forth between Binghamton in New York anymore. Okay, so setting the scene.

So I sit down to this interview, and sometimes you just say things where after you think why did I just say that? Or why did I even offer that up? I set myself up. So somehow I mentioned that I was a good speller. Why this came up, I have no idea. But anyway, I was asked to spell the words, cemetery, and marshal like US Marshal - got both of those wrong. Oh, no, no, it gets worse, it gets so much worse. Then, I had written on my resume that I was conversant in French, which may have been like a slight exaggeration. I took French in school, I think, conversant, it might have been a bit aggressive to describe it. So of course, the person interviewing me spoke French, and then wanted to speak in French. And so I muddled my way through that. And that was awful. But okay, so as I said, the stakes are kind of high for this interview, I'm already doing a terrible job. And, and now it comes down to the end. And the person who's interviewing me says, Okay, I'll make this deal with you. I'm going to ask you, oh, somehow we talked about geography. He said, Are you good at geography? I said, Yeah, sure. I'm really good at geography. I said, he said, I'll give you this one question. And if you get it, right, you can have a job here at News 12. Okay, so I'm like, Oh, my gosh, what's the question? So here, Debra, you want the question? You want to try to answer first?

Debra Alfarone:

Seeing as how I worked at News 12, I’m dying to know if I would even know the answer to this.

Jen Maxfield:

Oh, well, it's a market that's really important to News 12, wait ’til I tell you the question. What is the capital of Australia?

Debra Alfarone:

I don't know the capital of Australia, and I never will.

Jen Maxfield: 

Oh, no. Well, I'll never forget it now because I got the question wrong. I guessed Perth, because I thought it can't be Sydney, too obvious. I guessed Perth. The answer is Canberra. A city I had never heard of, to be honest. And that I will never forget. And I did not get the job at News 12. And I walked out of the interview and cried It was awful.

Debra Alfarone: 

That sounds like a terrible person interviewing you. I mean, no, right? Like, how horrible is that? To put someone on the spot like that? Can you spell this? If you do this, you can have the job. Like that's how you're gonna get the job because you know, the capital of Australia.

Jen Maxfield: 

I know. It's completely, it's really quite irrelevant to the coverage area of News 12. And yes, it was not nice. It was not a great interview. And yeah, and over the years, I do tell that story more for comic relief at this point, because it all worked out. But anyway, I got the job in Syracuse instead. And we went back and forth for another year. And then then I came back to New York for Eyewitness News.

Debra Alfarone:

Which as I like to say, look at me now!

Jen Maxfield:

As far as bad outfits and bad haircuts. Okay, I've definitely had a bunch of those in my 20s. Remember that style, where you would take that jewel tone blouse and you'd pop the collar outside the blazer? Oh, yes. Yeah, I did that. I did that more than I'd like to admit,

Debra Alfarone: 

I did that too many, many times. In fact, I remember when I did work at News 12. And I was freelance there for a bit in Connecticut, I actually was so broke, I would buy a blazer to wear on election night. And then I’d give it back the next day at Macy's. That's how broke I was. I'm not proud of that. But that's what I would do. So somebody out there has got my old blazer,

Jen Maxfield: 

it probably looked great on you. I used to shop, do a lot of outlet shopping, because I was pretty broke at that stage in my life too. My first year reporting, I couldn't afford a cell phone. That was in the year 2000, no cell phone, I just lived without it for a year, and I lost my 917 number and never got it back.

Debra Alfarone: 

Oh, that's actually more painful.

Jen Maxfield: 

I know. It's that was worth something. It really was.

Debra Alfarone: 

I remember I lived in New York with a 212 number. And I was like, Do we really need this landline and this cell phone and I hung onto it for way longer than I needed to just because I was like, you can't give up a 212? 

Jen Maxfield: 

You know, I have one last thing about this. It's related to a haircut. But I think a lot of us did it. Remember that style? In like, the late 90s? Where there were very thin eyebrows? My eyebrows into oblivion?.

Debra Alfarone:

Unfortunately, I do remember that very much. Yes. And I thought I looked cute. No, there was nothing cute.

Jen Maxfield:

Ii tried to grow mine back after a while but like mine gave up. They were like, fine, we won't grow back anymore.

Debra Alfarone:

You don't want us? Well, guess what? We don't want you and they live. Now I want them back. I understand. You know, I just going back to that News. 12, I have to say that was so mean of that person. But also what's meant for you will find you because Eyewitness News in New York City at that time with a huge deal. And News 12. Like, I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it at all, but it would be more of a stepping stone to go to News 12. And then you go to Eyewitness News. So it was like, well, I'll just bypass you. See ya. I like when things work out for good people.

Jen Maxfield: 

Yes, it did work out. And I'll never forget the capital of Australia. And I don't think I've ever had occasion to know it since then.

Debra Alfarone:

Well, you know, now you have to visit it before, you know, you have to visit it at some point. And really do. That's your second book. Yes. Oh, sure.

Jen Maxfield: 

I'm not sure who would read that one.

Debra Alfarone:

I would I'd be well, I'm reading your first one. So there you go. So I'm definitely going to read your second one. I love it. And again, a lot of people are reading it, because it's an Amazon Best Seller.

Jen Maxfield:

It's been wonderful. I've been so grateful. And even going out to all the in-person events. I mean, I'm doing events and bookstores, in places where people don't even get our station, I think there's a genuine interest in hearing people's stories. And in returning to some of these stories. You know, it's a big complaint in news that we never follow up on anything.

And the other thing I've noticed, is occasionally I'll be put in the current events section in a bookstore. And my book is really quite different than the other books in the current events section. Look, it's not about Trump, it's not about Biden, it's not about January 6, it's not about the news, media and other, you know, other issues pertaining to that. And I'm not suggesting those other things are not important. But I do think that there's space in news and space in the current events section at the bookstore, to talk about human beings, and to talk about people and to tell inspiring stories about people overcoming the adversity that landed them on our newscast in the first place.

Debra Alfarone: 

From your lips to everybody's ears, let me tell you, there is space for that. And you're going to inspire even more people to tell stories like this. Okay, one last thing, one last thing. High Jump. You had a high jump record. And I am not surprised at all about that. Because what is it that you don't do?

Jen Maxfield: 

Well, you really read through the bio and background. And so that's like an Easter egg that I put at the end that people have to read the whole thing to find.

Debra Alfarone:

Yeah, well, I figured you know, it is the least I could do.

Jen Maxfield: 

So it is the truth. I held my high school high jump record for 26 years, if you can believe it. And the great part about it is I live in New Jersey now. So when the record was broken, in the spring of 2021, one of the moms of the girls, who two girls actually broke it the same year, one of their moms reached out to me on social media and said, Hey, my daughter just broke your high jump record. And I said that's so fantastic. Can I come congratulate them at track practice? So I actually went to the track practice at the high school where I went and I was on their high school news channel and I got to watch these two incredible young women who just crushed my record and they've continued to do amazing things and records were made to be broken and I'm just really proud out of both of the young women who did it.

Debra Alfarone: 

Jen Maxfield, I am so honored to meet you and chat with you even though we know each other.

Jen Maxfield: 

We do we I think we knew each other in another life. We have a great connection. Thank you very much Debra for having me and thanks to everybody for listening.