I have been blessed with the support of many extraordinary people. I’d like to thank my parents, Jim and Mary, for a lifetime of love and encouragement. I’m also grateful to my brother, John, and his wife, Jen, for remaining in my corner, and to my wife’s parents, Jim and Sandi, for loving me and accepting me as their own. My kiddos, Emily and Parker, cheered the loudest for me and colored pictures to buoy my spirits on the days when all I managed to eke out was a chapter title. Thanks to my friends B.J., Laurel, Courtney, Traci, Delemont One, Delemont Two, Greg, Jen, Phill, Meredith, Valerie, Cliff, and the best neighbors I could ask for, Andy and Mary, for their continual reassurance and clearly questionable standards of friendship.
I was fortunate to have persuaded a number of people who are much smarter than me to read my manuscript in one form or another, and their insights and perspectives made rewriting The Journal of Best Practices thousands of times a true joy. Many thanks to Rebecca Connelly, Laurie Cunningham, Dr. Sheila Flaherty, Justin Jones, Adina Kabaker, Kelly Kennoy, Cathy Postilion, Sylvie Sadarnac, Jason Sarna, Cathy Scherer, Michael Tirrell, the incomparable Nancy Beckett, who expertly demystified the art and process of storytelling, and the late Mary Scruggs, who urged me to write this book and left much too soon. Very special thanks to Dr. Gail Richard for her invaluable elucidation of empathy and its impact on communication and socialization, and to Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, whose research has afforded me the luxury of understanding myself better.
Daniel Jones at the New York Times helped to shape the essay that became the basis for this book. Daniel has the astounding ability to express more in two sentences than I can say in two pages—had he written my acknowledgments, you’d be done reading them by now. Thank you, Daniel.
Beth Wareham welcomed me to Scribner, an opportunity for which I cannot thank her enough. I owe an overwhelming debt of gratitude to Susan Moldow, Kate Lloyd, and everyone at Scribner—thank you, thank you, thank you for your support, your enthusiasm, and all of your hard work.
Two people made a profound impact on my life recently and I’d like to thank them now. The first is my agent, Suzanne Gluck, who is one of the nicest people I know. Her extraordinary vision and unfailing support, her wisdom and guidance—these are gifts that have changed my life, and for that I’ll always be grateful. The other is Samantha Martin, my tireless and strikingly intelligent editor at Scribner, who never failed to provide me with a brilliant window into my own personal journey, and who always pushed me to do better. Suzanne and Samantha, all I can say is thank you.
Most of all, I owe thanks to my wife, Kristen, who made all of this happen. This book captures only an infinitesimal sliver of everything she puts up with in a typical day, of her capacity for grace, understanding, and love. The greatest thing a man can do for himself is to marry someone who is infinitely better than he is. And that’s exactly what I did. With Kristen’s support, I know I can accomplish anything.