I am deeply grateful to David Kuhn, my agent, who believed in this book from the beginning and sold it almost as soon as he received it, and to Jessi Cimaforte, an associate at Kuhn Projects, who encouraged and inspired me with her enthusiasm and her many positive remarks. I am also deeply grateful to my perceptive editor Cindy Spiegel, whose edits made all the difference, and to Hana Landes, assistant editor at Spiegel & Grau, who worked faithfully on my memoir. I am also forever indebted to Susan Wyant, who was the only person to read every page of this memoir during the ten years I spent working on it between writing several books of poetry. Susan not only gave me her insightful responses and brilliant suggestions, but also had a deep and consistent appreciation of my work that encouraged and inspired me through even the most difficult times of remembering and writing. I am forever thankful for my daughter-in-law Mary Robison, who continues to devote much of her time to doing everything she can to keep me healthy enough to continue my work. I’m grateful to my son Chris (Augusten Burroughs), who critiqued the chapters he read over the years and supported my work until the publication of his book Running with Scissors. And to my son John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye, who supports my memoir as well as supports me in my everyday life. I am especially grateful to my grandson, Jack, for his exuberant nature, his helpfulness, his sharing of his many interests, and the joy he gives me by simply being Jack.
I am forever indebted to Katherine Kendall, without whose help I might not have survived the stroke or healed enough to write this book, and to my brother Wyman Richter and his wife, Anne, whose help in telling me long-forgotten dates and places was essential. I’m grateful for the support of Barbara Jenkins, fellow writer and dear friend, whose brilliant and creative approach to speech therapy at Cooley-Dickinson Hospital in Northampton was a major contribution to my learning to speak again, and for all the help she continued to give me long after formal therapy was over. I’m also grateful for the support of Angela Manssolillo, my speech therapist in rehab at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, whose compassion and understanding were major in my learning to read poetry aloud again. Also for Sharlotte Risley, my occupational therapist, and my doctors Charles Brummer, Marci Yoss, and Lawrence Schiffman. I am grateful to Pat Schneider, who published my book-length poem Red Creek, and to Bethany Schneider, who edited my yet-to-be-published New and Selected Poems. And to Peter Schneider, who helped me learn to drive again after my stroke, and to Paul Schneider, who introduced me to David Kuhn.
I am deeply grateful for the supportive friendships of Dee Waterman, Marilyn Zelwian, Alaina Beach, Mary Jean Devlin, John Hapeman, Pat Bega, Debra Yaffee, Peg Robbins, Kathy Crane, Ruth Gallagher, Maija Meijers, June MacIvor, Mary Julia Richter Coons, Rita Larrow, Brian and Piyali Summer, Delores Culp, Dennis Helmus, Anne Plunkett, Clifton McCracken, Charles Lewis, Henry Lyman, and all of my PCAs over the years.
I’m grateful to my cousin Margaret Rushin Anderson, who became my friend after we met at my fourth birthday party. We were close friends until we graduated from high school and Margaret married and moved to Germany, while I began my freshman year of college. We became close again in 1984 and continue to be close. I am grateful not only for Margaret’s emotional support as I spent so many years looking back at my life, but also for all the rich conversations we had about our past as I wrote about it, and our present lives as we continue to experience them.
I am forever grateful to Pat King.