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Podcast: Women Over 70: Aging Reimagined
Episode: 354 Jody Wilhelm: From Rural Recluse to Global Filmmaker
Description: Jody’s life reads like a movie—one she ultimately wrote and directed herself. Growing up in isolation and surviving severe trauma, she moved through poverty, rape, separation from siblings, and profound loss—the deaths of her mother, grandmother, and daughter. Yet Jody transformed her pain into purpose, becoming a mother, model, teacher, TV’s beloved adult facilitator on Romper Room, guidance counselor, and author. At 84, she achieved what few could imagine: becoming the Oldest Female First-Time Feature Filmmaker, earning awards and international recognition. Her film, Letters to Stephanie, tells an inspiring adoption story drawn from her decades-long fight to recon...