This book was over sixty-five years in the making. It reflects the culmination of a lifetime of personal experiences, reflections, and learning. I am indebted to the countless individuals who have — wittingly or unwittingly — shaped my journey and, as a consequence, these stories. This book could never have been realized without their contributions.
Although many authors have significantly influenced my thinking and writing, those I still find to be especially valuable include Viktor Frankl, Thomas Szasz, R. D. Laing, George Orwell, Joseph Heller, Ambrose Bierce, Frank O’Connor, Eudora Welty, Hans Eysenck, Paul Meehl, William Goldman, Neil Simon, Jules Feiffer, and, of course, Margaret Wise Brown and Dr. Seuss. Inspiration of a different kind was provided by the insights, humor, and wisdom of Gary Larson, Matt Groening, B. Kliban, Leigh Rubin, and, when I was a miserable teenager, MAD Magazine.
It’s one thing to collect a bunch of anecdotes and occasionally disclose them to friends, students, or even clients. However, it’s quite another to transform them into a book that I hope to share with a wide range of readers. That’s where the following individuals come in…
Thank you to my agent, Beth Davey, and my manager, John Tomko, for enthusiastically believing in this project from the outset, and to Hayes Jackson for forging the initial connection. My deep gratitude extends to every member of my “A+ Team”: Susie Stangland (social media guru), Emi Battaglia (publicist), and Lucinda Dyer and Bryan Azorsky at Nodebud Authors (website designers). A special shout out goes to my invaluable (and remarkably tolerant) research assistants Dianne Kong, Alexander Lewin, Dawne Czarny, and Sandy Sayah-Pedram.
It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to acknowledge the creative input and tremendous support I received at virtually every stage of this book’s development from the superb professionals at Mango Publishing, particularly Brenda Knight (associate publisher), Chris McKenney (CEO), Robin Miller (editor), Elina Diaz (graphic designer), Scott McKenney (book titler extraordinaire), Hannah Jorstad Paulsen (marketing manager), and Merritt Smail (sales and marketing assistant).
Thanks to those friends, family, and associates who offered their insights and feedback on various versions of my manuscript: Lynne Wetzell, Annie Wharton, Drew Erhardt, Andrea Levy, Marilee Bradford, Jonathan “JP” Perpich, Barbara Ingram, Steve Nevil, Robert Levy, Sherrie Basch Stelik, Arielle Eckstut, and Laura Munson. I also wish to acknowledge the love and support of my “step-kids,” Katherine Sauska, Jaclyn Tebbe, Kerry Tebbe, and Christian Sauska; my “step-grandkids,” Christian, August, and Giorgia Sauska; and the pets I’ve cherished throughout my life, Samantha, Lucy, Emma, and Zorro.