ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, we offer our deepest gratitude to the essayists who contributed their work to this book. We honor their willingness to express the things that matter most and to share their stories in this collection.

In reviving This I Believe, we are forever grateful to Casey Murrow, Keith Wheelock, and Margot Wheelock Schlegel, the children of This I Believe creators Edward R. Murrow and Ward Wheelock. Our project continues to be guided by Edward R. Murrow and his team, which preceded us in the 1950s: Gladys Chang Hardy, Reny Hill, Donald J. Merwin, Edward P. Morgan, Raymond Swing, and Ward Wheelock.

Very special thanks go to Atlantic Public Media, Inc., in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where many of these essays were first reviewed. Several essays in this collection were originally broadcast on NPR, and we are thankful to Jay Allison and Viki Merrick for their contribution in editing and producing these essays: “The Power of Hello,” “The Art of Being a Neighbor,” “A Kind and Generous Heart,” “Caring Makes Us Human,” “A Priceless Lesson in Humility,” “Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces,” “Deciding to Live,” “Walking in the Light,” “Listening Is Powerful Medicine,” “Our Vulnerability Is Our Strength,” “A Taste of Success,” “Seeing with the Heart,” “To Hear Your Inner Voice,” “Courage Comes with Practice,” “Adapting to the Possibilities of Life,” “A Drive to Achieve the Extraordinary,” “Inviting the World to Dinner,” and “Finding the Flexibility to Survive.” We also appreciate the production assistance provided by Posey Gruener.

Our sincerest thanks to Laura Coons for expert editorial assistance. Her insights and organization were of immense help in bringing this book to life.

We are truly and deeply grateful for our This I Believe, Inc., board of directors, who give their time and talents to strengthening our organization. Thank you to Marty Bollinger, John Y. Brown III, Jerry Howe, David Langstaff, Lynn Amato Madonna, and Declan Murphy.

Our current on-air homes are The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and Bob Edwards Weekend on Public Radio International. Our heartfelt thanks go to Bob Edwards and his wonderful staff: Steve Lickteig, Geoffrey Redick, Ed McNulty, Ariana Pekary, Shelley Tillman, Dan Bloom, Andy Kubis, Chad Campbell, and Cristy Meiners. At Sirius XM, we thank Jeremy Coleman, Frank Raphael, and Kevin Straley.

We also want to express our gratitude to everyone at NPR, which aired our radio series for the first four years, especially Jay Kernis, Stacey Foxwell, and Robert Spier, who were passionate and steadfast supporters.

The comprehensive website for This I Believe (thisibelieve.org) was built by Dennis Whiteman at Fastpipe Media, Inc., and was designed by the folks at LeapFrog Interactive with help from Chris Enander of TBD Design. Our iPhone app was cocreated by Dennis along with Wayne Walrath at Acme Technologies.

The creation of this book was immeasurably aided by our agent, Andrew Blauner, of Blauner Books Literary Agency. We are so fortunate to continue to have his able services and his unwavering support.

Our publisher, John Wiley & Sons, has been tremendously supportive of our recent publishing activities. We are deeply indebted to editor Hana Lane and her entire team for their passion and professionalism. We are deeply grateful especially for the skills and support of Ellen Wright, Lisa Burstiner, Matt Smollon, Mike Onorato, and Laura Cusack.

And, finally, we thank the thousands of individuals who have accepted our invitation to write and to share their own personal statements of belief. This book contains but a fraction of the many thoughtful and inspiring essays that have been submitted to our project, and we are grateful for them all. We invite you to join this group by writing your own This I Believe essay and submitting it to us via our website, thisibelieve.org. You will find instructions in the appendix of this book on how to do so.