Author of the memoir "When I Married My Mother"

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Who would think that taking care of an elderly parent full-time, particularly one you weren't close to, could be the adventure of a lifetime? I, like millions before me and millions to come, faced my mother's decline with a tsunami of mixed emotions. My anger, guilt, heartbreak and helplessness increased as she refused assistance. Living far away from her made it worse, and after several years inaction was no longer an option. My only regret now is that I did not do what I finally did a lot sooner.

 About When I Married My Mother

 Jo Maeder was a not-so-young DJ on a decidedly youth-driven New York City radio station when a series of crises led her to do the unthinkable: move to the Bible Belt - “Greensboring,” North Carolina - to care for her ailing, estranged pack-rat of a mother.

 “Mama Jo”'s eccentric behavior had long been a source of frustration. Now with her increasing dementia added to the already volatile mix, it looked like Operation Mama Jo could well be a disaster. Jo's therapist suspected she had Rescuer's Syndrome--and her mother could not be rescued. Jo's friends staged an intervention. Even Mama Jo wasn’t sure it would work.

 Daughter Jo reasoned that, at the very least, her mom's uninhabitable house would be cleared out (as soon as she figured out how to do that without her mother's cooperation). And maybe, just maybe, she'd solve a few of her own problems, like her uncanny ability to be attracted to men just like Mama Jo.

 Jo’s roller-coaster ride with her unforgettable mother and her massive doll collection, Jo’s born-again brother, the laid-back South, and first-time home ownership--plus a few drag queens along the way--proved to be a magical, hilarious and, at times, heartbreaking antidote to heal a long-fractured family.

 Ultimately, Jo learned the meaning of true love, devotion, faith -- and also how to age gracefully without completely losing her Inner Teen. What she feared would be some of the worst years of her life turned out to be some of her best. And the same was also true for Mama Jo. After all, if you're not right with your Mama, you're not going to be right with anyone.