My first grazie mille must go to the people of Cortona, with deep gratitude for their kind and increasingly warm welcome. Open-hearted, hard-working, generous Cortonese have been welcoming strangers for centuries. Hospitality is deeply rooted in Cortonese character, and Larry and I have been fortunate recipients.
Grazie to Lorenzo Lucani for insisting that La Lodolina was our perfect house, even after we said no. And to Francesco Rapini for brilliantly, creatively, skillfully — and yes, ever-so-cleverly — turning a near-ruin into our beloved Tuscan home. Thank you, Francesco, even more for your friendship. Knowing you enriches our lives every day.
My deepest gratitude to Larry for asking me about my dreams on our first date and for encouraging me to reach for them ever since. Thank you for your courage, saying that I must publish our story though it reveals aspects of each of us we would rather the world didn’t know. Without you, the little lark never would have hatched, taken flight, or shared her song.
Ruth Senter, author/editor and friend, worked tirelessly with me for seven years. Thank you immeasurably for teaching me to become a better writer as you guided me to make a better book. Not everyone adores working with their editor, but you were as grace-filled and encouraging as you were tough. I’m still astounded that, together, we read the entire early manuscript printed — and then again aloud!
Thank you, Mikael Melbye, portraitist/landscape-artist/opera-star/friend, for generously offering to take a professional photo of Lodolina when you knew I was struggling — and for climbing that olive tree to get just the right angle. And for taking such a flattering photo of me.
Thank you, Barry Svigals, architect/creative-force/artist/friend, for making time in the midst of demanding projects to create our beautiful lark for the cover. She’s lovely, shy but confident, and intensely alert as she opens her beak to welcome a new day.
Thank you, Cynthia Round, executive/branding-expert/friend, for introducing us to Cortona in 1997, offering to be my book-marketing partner — and forty-five years of rare friendship.
Thank you to other dear friends: Susie Russell, for inviting me to “The Art of Writing” workshop where my project became serious, and to author/organizer Lisa Clifford for affirming my work. (We never know when a small positive comment will launch a life-changing project.) Alessandra Wood, for making sure my Italian is not embarrassingly incorrect. To girlfriends who waded through drafts and gave their honest opinions, suggestions, and support: Vicki Chamberlain, Jean Cami, Sheryl Turping, Laura Truax, Enza Valente and, especially, Lyndall Passerini, for offering historical insights. To Aziz Cami for his expert cover design advice.
Loving thanks to our children: Ron Smith for visiting that first summer with his family, Lara Mondae for her excellent graphic-design counsel, and Amber Bozman, Angela Smith, and Becky Hassett for encouraging me to tell the truth even though Larry and I might not look so good. Also to Ron’s wife, Blayn, for reviewing Ron’s chapters on behalf of their family.
I’m ever so grateful to Terry Whalin who said “yes” when he read my sample and persistently urged me to sign the contract and finish the book, and to my excellent team at Morgan James Publishing. They are professional, wise, skilled, and responsive. Thank you for the pleasure of working with you all.
My gratitude, lastly, to the real-life characters in this book. I hope you enjoyed reliving the memories. Without you, my dream of writing a book would not have come true.