I thought about this book for a long time before I dared put it on paper. And I may never have sat down at the keyboard had it not been for Erin Mossop, Mark Weston, Chris Adams, Susan Braley and Gastón Castaño. Huge thanks for listening to me talk, sorting out what I was trying to say and telling it back to me. And thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for the financial support that allowed me to turn those thoughts into a book.
As I researched, many people were very generous with time, information and photos. I’m especially grateful to: John Locke, Biswarup Ganguly, Kim Kasl, Katrina Zimmerman, Nieske at the Repair Café Foundation, Gillian Hallissey at Kiva, Kim Hodge, Pete Moorhouse, Sudbury Public Library, and Mary Rose MacLachlan, who kindly sourced an image based solely on my misinformation about its origin! Thanks, too, to all those who were willing to appear in photos in this book.
Several books for adults helped me better understand my subject. Among my favorites have been The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard with Ariane Conrad; Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf et al., and Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. Shareable (www.shareable.net) also opened my eyes to inspiring initiatives around the planet.
Of course, this book wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic team at Orca Book Publishers. Thanks for taking a chance on this rather unconventional topic. Thanks to Sarah Harvey for excellent editing suggestions, to Kelly Laycock for careful copyedits and fancy photo footwork, and to Jenn Playford for the beautiful design. What a team!
To my family and friends, who have supported me with everything from cups of tea to work parties, thank you. I’m so grateful to have you all in my lives!