THERE ARE MANY who significantly supported the creation of this book. Lisa Tener, my writing coach, was instrumental in the development of the early organization of the material and the proposal for publication. Her guidance was essential to move from thoughts to a detailed outline and marketing plan. She has continued to provide vital information and support throughout the entire process until the present. Jeanne Fredericks, my agent, immediately “got it”—she understood the thesis of the book, even at the earliest stage. She has been a very strong supporter during the entire process and intervened at critical moments in its production to keep it moving forward. Glenn Yeffeth, the Ben-Bella publisher, also immediately understood the book’s potential. He also intervened at important moments in the book’s production and was more than generous with the editorial assistance needed. The three editors of the book, Jodie Ackerman, Judy Myers, and Vy Tran, were indispensable with their multitude of brilliant comments and edits.
This book emerged from my website Searching for the Mind, which was first envisioned during the three years I attended the Harvard course on writing Writing, Publishing, and Social Media for Healthcare Professionals. At that course, I met Rusty Shelton, who was instrumental in developing and supporting the website and arranging for PR and other support over many years. He has continued to be very helpful, in a variety of ways, until the present. He transitioned the website to the excellent company Alter Endeavors, which is critical to the marketing of this book.
Over the eight years that the website has existed, the book percolated in my mind. As the book was beginning to take shape, quite a number of Twitter and Facebook friends, journalists, healers, and scientists were extremely supportive and provided comments that were very helpful. There isn’t enough space to list them all, but some must be singled out. From the dozens of extremely supportive colleagues, two in particular strongly supported the thesis and direction from the beginning. @SusanaDeLeonMD and @815wrldtrvlr were incredibly supportive all along. Other important Tweeters who supported the book are @Abcsoka, @Willblackwriter, @DrAlexConcorde, @Drlindamd, @NewMindMirror, @Stevencarraher, and @EdLatimore. There are many others as well.
Most important to the birth of the book were my wife, Mary; my daughter, Sarah; and my friend and colleague Steve Kaufman. Steve gave critical comments and guidance during the entire eight-year period, at every step along the way. My daughter, a scientist in her own right, provided important insight and critical comments during the entire adventure from website to published book. My wife, Mary, supported this entire project from the time of its inception. As I searched for scientific information about the mind, she confronted me in a way that forced me to clarify my thinking enough to allow the initial organization of the website, and later, the organization of the book. She helped me hone the thesis of the book and provided vital emotional support at every stage of the long and tortuous path from plans to published book.