Jo Carubia's words bring life to your story. She helped my husband, Alexander Kalenak, M.D. achieve his dream of writing a legacy book.  Alex was a groundbreaking orthopedic surgeon from humble beginnings.  When he was dying from pancreatic cancer, Jo brought the light back into his eyes as he found the energy to recount the experiences and achievements that became his book, Something More: Reflections on a Bountiful Life.  She interviewed Alex with probing questions, and her genuine enjoyment and appreciation of his responses encouraged him and gave him the vitality that was truly the best medicine!

It seemed an impossible task at the time, to have a stranger come into our home and be successful in helping us to document our story. Jo came into our lives at the most difficult time ever, and instantly became part of our family. Her sincere demeanor and thoughtful candor invoked an immediate trust. With incredible compassion, she guided us through the creative process. She helped us to identify our objectives and organized the path to reaching them with great skill. She coached us through the consolidation of decades of mementos and memories to establish the perfect outline for our book. Our goals were to record the details of Josh’s life before we forgot, and to be able to share his story with our friends, relatives and the rest of the world. We reached those goals and could not be more satisfied with the completed product. Judging from heaps of positive feedback we’ve received, including that from successful authors, readers invariably share that approval.

Marvelous workshop leader!
Jo Carubia has created and facilitated multiple writing workshops for me.  I thought I would introduce Jo and then leave the room, but her programs with our active adults at the Oakes were too much fun!  She immediately engaged them with inspiring activities and reflections. They enjoyed writing in various genres in a monthly series that was always innovative and substantial.  She is very professional and also warm and funny.  Our workshop participants continued writing in between her sessions, and they always wanted her to come back and continue the series.
I will never forget the inspiring interview Jo facilitated with Lisa See, author of so many remarkable books.  I contacted Lisa and arranged a location to gather multiple reading groups who had read her book, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  Jo composed interview questions and conducted the live author interview. We all—including Lisa See—enjoyed the conversation immensely! 

Jo also facilitated a memoir writing workshop for my “Wonders of the World” international women’s book group.  She elicited the most wonderful stories from each woman in a roundtable session and then worked with them individually to bring these stories to publication in her book, About Her: Stories of Grace, Grit, Grievance, and Gratitude.  It was very moving to hear the stories. The process of polishing the stories and seeing them published was meaningful to each and every one of the international women who participated. I know this first hand because I also contributed to the collection and encouraged a few others as well.  We all appreciated the professional process that Jo brings to every project.
I’ve been fortunate to know Jo in so many roles in addition to these specific workshops: her leadership role with Global Connections, her volunteer activities at the Mount Nittany Medical Center, development of her own writing business, and her many career advancements at Penn State.