Acknowledgments

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals who participated in the fifteen-year journey to bring my mother’s story to life.

For her extraordinary insight and prose, enormous thanks are owed to Christine Burrill, without whom this book would not have been possible.

A profound thank you to Irene Webb and John Karas, for bringing the project to Warner Books; to Jamie Raab, for believing in the power of my mother’s life story; to Caryn Karmatz Rudy for being our guiding light; and to Harvey-Jane Kowal and Molly Chehak for their invaluable support.

Thanks to Lee Cohen for his great caring and devotion to the project, and to those individuals who gave him support, guidance, and wisdom—Lois Sarkisian, Alex Cohen, Brien Lopez, Susan Grode, Regina Seidman Miller, Belinda Casas-Wells, Deborah Oppenheimer, Al Landolph and Pam Somers, Tara Cook, Mark and Ann Goldblatt, Fred and Cheryl Cook. In memory of Sue Cohen.

Thanks to Dennis and Gina Schwartz, Martin Lewis, Hans Cohen, Bertha Leverton, David Jedwab, Honey Chester, Annette Saville, for their time, generosity, and memories.

Thanks also to Richard Burkhart, for his daily commitment every step of the way; Chuck Hurewitz, for his invaluable advice; Marc Whitmore, for his thoughtful assistance; and to Jesse Silver, Jackie Maduff, and Marc Kaye, for their insightful contributions and loving support through the long process.

And finally:

The deepest thanks

To my best friend, my sister, Renée: We had the greatest parents.

To Michele: You were Lisa’s angel.

To Sarah: Lisa loved you with all her heart.

To Jonathan and Rachel: Lisa is listening—and waiting to see where the music will lead you.