When I write autobiographically, I strive for two things that are sometimes in tension: scrupulous factual precision and scrupulous respect for other people’s privacy. Here, if I’ve erred, it is on the side of privacy. Many of the people who appear in this book (most obviously, but not exclusively, those with letters for names) are literary approximations of real people. I’ve at times created composites; and throughout, I’ve changed not only names, but also identifying details, all in the interest of sharing true stories without trespassing on anyone else’s wish not to have his or her story known.