Many people have helped to make this book a reality. Over the years, I have received support from a multitude of professional and personal friends. Yet the greatest motivator has continued to be the many young and adult children who shared parts of their lives with me. Their courage, vulnerability, and honesty inspired me on all levels. It is those lives that give the emotional depth and incredibly rich meaning to It Will Never Happen to Me. This book has been written in honor of each and every one who has traveled on this healing journey.
While I have had strong support from so many, there is a group of people who have been more directly involved in the creating of It Will Never Happen to Me. A special thank you to Renee Cavalier, Joan Fiset, and Jane Middleton Moz for their poetry, and Peter Nardi for his story. Your words, written many years ago, have offered validation and hope for the journey.
Victoria Danzig, Martha Ranson, Margaret Hillman, Lynn Sanford, Jael Greenleaf, Deborah Smith Parker, and Muriel Zink played a direct role in the first edition, giving their support and feedback to me and continue to be a part of my life.
Bob Stein, Annie Doce, Barry Levy, and Anne Marie Piontek—you will not be forgotten for your original contributions.
Margaret Cork, author of Forgotten Children, and renowned family therapist Virginia Satire, my professional inspirations to give voice to children of addiction. Thank you.
It Will Never Happen to Me is truly my child, a very special child. I can offer it only because of the important people in my life. While many of them have already been acknowledged, I need to add to this list my grandmother Margaret Dolquist, a lifelong mentor, who passed away at the age of ninety-seven. My long-standing friends Shelia Fields and Lorie Dwinell, your unconditional support of me has always been most valued. I am grateful for the friendships of Bob Martin, Mary Carol Melton, and Sis Wenger. I have been blessed with their validation and enthusiasm for my writings and work. A special thanks as well to my friends Ginny Brown and Russel Zink—angels who are always there to remind me to take care of me.
Sadly, my father and my childhood friend, Debbie, have died from their addictions. I would like to acknowledge the incredible meaning and gifts they gave me in their life.
Tammy Stark worked for me for over thirteen years. Her life passion was in her dedication to the readers of my many books. She believed wholeheartedly in the recovery journey that would lie ahead. While invisible to most by name, may she be remembered for her commitment to the many readers.
Sandi Klein, my assistant, you have been invaluable help in this edition and with over two decades of being my right-hand person for whom I am forever grateful.
While I have been quite visible to the world, my mother and sister, Jana have been my champions. My work would lead me to share about my personal life that would reflect upon theirs; they have stood with me in pride and love. Thank you. Let me thank my stepfather, Tom, as well. You were a light in our lives.
There is no other person I am more indebted for the fact this book exists than my late husband, Jack Fahey. He was there for the gnashing of teeth that came with the many rewrites, the emotional pain that was tapped attempting to speak to the vulnerability of living with addiction, and the joy in witnessing the journey into recovery.
Thank you all.