This book was a lot of fun to write, and I learned a great deal along the way. It also took up most of my free evenings for more than two years. I could not have done it without the help of many people. There were so many that I will undoubtedly have left some out—if you find your name is missing, get in touch and I will buy you a cup of tea and give you a free copy of the book.
I have become more grateful for my family than ever before. Especially my sister Samantha, who supported me to keep going through the late nights required to write the book while holding a full-time job. My other sisters, Katie and Teresa, encouraged me, and my father gave me great advice. My cousins John and Brett gave me good ideas and solid friendship, and my cousin George went out of his way to give me some brilliant ideas. Claire has become my rock and blessing. I have a large extended family and I can’t name them all here: you are all special to me.
My friends Bent, PK, Colin, Cynthia, David, Devika, Dennis, Foad, Heather, Mark, Isabel, Jurgita, Kulbir, Monika, Marcus, Martin, Eloïse, Jason, Renaud, and Sam were all there for me. Qarim is more creative than I’ll ever be, and he encouraged me to think visually about the story. Sebastien has been my best friend since I was two years old and he has done more favors for me than I can count; I am in his debt. He gave me a ton of advice about the legal aspects of publishing. I have not rowed much with the Molesey Leg-Ends, but their daily updates keep me inspired, and Matt Brittin came up with the title during a spontaneous post-row brainstorm at the Caf. The Headington Roadrunners provided a welcome distraction. John Webster is a great teacher. Inevitably I spent a lot of time in cafés, and the staff at Branca were great.
Father Gavriil kind of adopted me as his spiritual son and tried to keep me on the right track. My former rowing coaches Scott Armstrong and Dusan Kovacevic are an ongoing source of sound guidance about my work and life in general. The Venerable Dr. Khammai Dhammasami and Dr. Pannyawamsa of Oxford Buddhist Vihara let me stay at their monastery for a few days to complete the manuscript: it is amazing how much you can get done without any distractions.
My colleagues Jeffrey Aronson, Nancy Cartwright, Alexander Bird, Sir Muir Gray, Sir Iain Chalmers, Donald Gillies, George Lewith, Ted Kaptchuk, Mike Kelly, Frank Miller, Dan Moerman, and Paul Glasziou all have different scholarly interests, but share a commitment to high-quality research that attempts to make things better. They hold up a high standard that I strive for and rarely achieve. I did a lot of the scientific research reported here while working with Paul Aveyard and the Behavioral Medicine Group at Oxford. This group is more supportive than any group I’ve ever worked with. Karin read the chapters on epigenetics and Steph helped with the conclusion. Mingy is the herbal doctor I talked about in the Preface. Donna Lee encouraged me to believe in my writing.
The book would not have seen the light of day without a publisher. I am grateful to Rupert Sheldrake for introducing me to Mark Booth at Hodder & Stoughton, the book’s original publisher in the United Kingdom. It has been a real pleasure working with Mark and his team (Vero, Fiona, Heather), who are everything one could hope for in a publisher and more. The team at Quercus—Nathaniel, Amelia, Amanda, and Elyse—have also been great, helping me translate everything for a U.S./Canadian audience. My agent, Robert Lecker, helped with the formalities, and Lawrence helped kick it all off. Nic Fleming did some final editing, helped me with the CRISPR science, and generally helped make my mediocre writing a bit less mediocre.
Two people deserve a special mention. Jo Marchant interviewed me for her wonderful book Cure, even though she knew I was writing a book on a related topic. While our books are complementary, a less magnanimous person might have seen them as competition. Far from viewing me as a threat, she invited me to join her for a public talk at the Wellcome Trust, and made a special mention of my book at her own book launch. Her generous spirit is something I strive to emulate. Finally, my yoga teacher, Dr. Madan Bali, is ninety-three years young and has been an ongoing source of inspiration.