To create a book always takes a team effort, and there are many people who have contributed to the completion of this project. We would like to thank W.W. Norton’s chief editor, Deborah Malmud, for her vision and patience, without which we could not have completed this book. Suzanne Elusorr has been a wonderful editor who played a major role in making this project a reality, and we value her friendship as well. We also want to thank Margaret Ryan for her detailed copyediting, which created a clear and accurate manuscript.
To our students and clients we owe a debt of gratitude. They taught us that people have amazing abilities for change. They helped us take theory and make it both practical and personal.
We owe much to our mentors and colleagues. Among those are Milton Erickson, Carl Whitaker, Steve Lankton, Roxanna Erickson-Klein, Jeff Zeig, Betty Alice Erickson, and our dear friends in Group 17 who helped keep us emotionally honest, connected, and feeling personally supported.
Thanks go to our three children, Chris, Stephen, and Tiffany, who taught us that parenting, like therapy, requires connection, creativity, humor, humility, and the steadfast belief that people can reach their potential.