I owe a special thanks to my life partners, Eric and Ricky. Each of them has generously given up receiving some of my time and attention so that I could focus on completing this book. They have been my strongest supporters and given me love, encouragement, ice cream, neck rubs, and smiles whenever things were challenging.
And I send my heartfelt gratitude to Eve Rickert and Thorntree Press, who believed in this book and took a chance on me and on publishing this book. Eve worked with me over a period of two years throughout every stage of the writing, editing, and publishing process. Thanks, Eve, for your patience, skill, and wisdom in “midwifing” this book to completion and publication!
In addition, I would like to thank Samantha Manewitz, LCSW, for assisting with the writing and editing of the section on abusive relationships, in Chapter 5. Her help dramatically improved this section, and for that, I am very grateful.
I want to send a big shout out and thank you to Lacey Johnson, the artist who created the beautiful and funny illustrations for the book. As soon as I saw Lacey’s terrific zine, Green-Eyed Monsters: My Report on Jealousy, I immediately knew what was wrong with my first two books: no cartoons! What was I thinking? I was hooked on her comics and zines, and I knew I wanted her illustrations in my new book. Thanks, Lacey!
Last but definitely not least, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the 45 people who allowed me to interview them for this book. They generously gave me their time and bravely bared their souls to tell me their stories about very painful breakups of polyamorous relationships. Each person described a unique set of circumstances and each experienced their own journey. However, what they went through and what they learned helped me glean some useful lessons that I believe will be very helpful to the readers of this book.