This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of (literally) hundreds of talented and gifted people. At the top of that list is my amazing and tireless literary agent, Linda Konner, who was willing to put in the time and effort required to work with a first-time author like myself. Words cannot express my gratitude to Sara Carder for her insightful advice on how best to polish this manuscript, to Brianna Yamashita and Keely Platte for their commitment to marketing and publicizing the book, to Joanna Ng for her thoughtful attention to detail and editorial assistance, to Nellys Liang for designing the stunning book cover, and to Pat Crocker for pouring her heart and soul into the fabulous recipes.
An enormous thank you goes out to Arthur E. Benjamin, Fabiola Beracasa, and Ashley Berrysmith for their invaluable mentorship and extraordinary vision. Thank you to Nancy Degnan, Jill Shapiro, Autumn Payne, Geoff Hempill, Joshua Drew, Jennifer Betancourt, Leah DeSole, Lisa French, Shahid Naeem, and Frank Wolf for helping me steer my ship in life. Further thanks go to Melissa Beveridge, Meredith Bennett-Smith, Leyla Acaroglu, Christine Hirt, Daniel Schwartz, Allegra DePasquale, Nina LoSchiavo, Carlyn Cowen, Seisei Tatebe-Goddu, Meira Harris, Cheyn Shah, Danika Lam, Emma Eytan, Sharon Wu, Richard Lee, Matthew Ashton, Cameron Shorb, Daisy Freund, Jenny Edwards, Georgie Mallet, Tyler Puckett, Krystal Caldwell, Bobbie Macdonald, Greg Boese, Peter Hurford, Sofia Davis-Fogel, Michelle Cone, Liv Boeree, Dalton Sweet, Anton Vallo, Max Elder, Rachel Atcheson, Alan Darer, Kyle Fujisawa, Mary Williams, Marcin Kowrygo, Jake Levin, Scott Weathers, Margaret Weinberg, Lauren Wolahan, Michael Trollan, Sylvia Wood, Derek Coons, Alice Cichon, Ailanit Davydova, Olaf Woldan, Jorge Lugo, and Sarah Brodie who volunteered their time and expertise to advance the Reducetarian movement.
This book really belongs to the countless essay contributors who spent a great deal of energy educating readers about the importance of eating fewer animal products. Thank you to my co-founder Tyler Alterman, for his wacky suits and even wackier ideas. Thank you to my insane best friends—Michael Young, Dan Feldman, Isabella Cardona, David Di Lillo, Joe Eastman, Danielle Medina, Vincent Romano, Crichton Atkinson, Lauren Deaderick, Michelle Yakobson, Mark Barahman, David Craig, Michael Stivers, Arthur Kapetanakis, and Katina Boutis for their unwavering support. Thank you to my surrogate families—Sharon and Michael, Kim, Big Jeff, Little Jeff, and Chris, and Annie, Mark, Wesley, and Brittany—for their generosity and warmth.
Thank you to my loving mom and dad who have always been there for me and believed in me; to my sister, Jennifer, for challenging me at the dinner table; to Grandma Rose for teaching me to buy grapes only when they are on sale; and to Tobey for her companionship and for her loyalty.
And finally, a special thank you to Isabel, who reminds me there is always something to see if you know where to look, and inspires me to be a better person. I would never have made it this far without you by my side.