Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my brother, Roberto, and my mother, Joaquina, for providing me with a wealth of personal stories, some of which I have incorporated in this book. Special thanks to my immediate family—Laura, Pancho, Lori, Carlo Vicente, Miguel, and Tomás—for patiently listening to various drafts and offering helpful comments.

I wish to thank the community of my childhood, whose courage, tenacity, faith, and hope in the midst of adversity have been a constant inspiration to me in my writing and in my personal and professional life.

I have lasting gratitude to my teachers, whose guidance and faith in my ability helped me break through many barriers.

Thanks to many students, colleagues, and friends, especially Fr. Paul Locatelli, S.J., Fr. Stephen Privett, S.J., Peter Facione, Don Dodson, Alma García, Susan Erickson, and Alan Bern, for encouraging me to continue writing.

I am thankful to Santa Clara University for giving me the time to write this book and for valuing my work.

Finally, I am also indebted to my editor, Ann Rider, for her valuable suggestions for improvement and her gentle encouragement to write from the heart.