When I finally sat down to write this book, it surprised me how quickly it spilled out on the page. But I never would have gotten to that point without the help and encouragement of so many people. While there are far too many to mention, I’d like to highlight just a few:
To my family, and especially my brother Dean. They’ve given me nothing but love and support over the years, and Dean’s advice as a previously published author was invaluable.
To Andrea Gollin, who I first met as part of the Knight Fellowship in Community Building in Miami. Andrea walked me through editing and proofreading, and helped turn this into a real book.
To Stu Sirota & Lee Sobel, who are my regular email buddies, tough critics and lifelong pals that also met through the Knight program and the CNU.
To all of the contributors for their own personal stories – wow, I was blown away by the quality of what you all produced. Thanks for responding to my request.
To all of my friends and former co-workers in KC, especially Brian, Dan, Jerod, Katie & the whole 180 gang. You know who you are, and this wouldn’t be possible without all of our efforts over the years.
To my new friends and colleagues in Savannah for opening your arms to me.
To New Society Publishers for taking a chance on my little book.
And finally, to the lovely Jamie Andersen for being so supportive of my efforts, putting up with all of the talk about it and for joining me on many great walks. We’ll have many more long walks to come.