The idea of me writing about grace may strike those who know me as odd. There is little about me that others may discern as graceful. It’s more like I’m clumsy and awkward at times, both in speech and on the golf course. Yet I do know I have been touched by grace because I am blessed with family, friends and colleagues who serve as my role models. This book represents my attempt to discuss at length why grace is important and what it means to us now.
To pull this off I needed the assistance of many, beginning with the many folks I interviewed on the topic of grace. They are Wayne Baker, Louis Carter, Stephen M.R. Covey, Sally Helgesen, Dave Johnson, Alaina Love, Chris Lowney, Mike McKinney, Scott Moorehead, Alan Mulally, Christine Porath, Skip Prichard and Tim Sanders. I am grateful to each for time spent with me, and more importantly, the great insights they so readily shared with me. I thank them for their generosity.
I am deeply grateful to Dan Vega and the team at Indigo River Publishing—Bobby Dunaway who got this book into shape and my editor Deborah DeNicola,. Lucky for me, Deborah is not only an author, she also teaches English composition and grammar to college students.
I want to extend a hand to my fellow “book club” members—Jerry, Dan, Stew, Jim and Rob (plus Tom)—who readily share their views about all things meaningful, including a few things that are less significant—golf, college sports, and stupid things that men of a certain age still find funny.
And of course, I thank my wife, Gail Campanella, who not only puts up with me, but whose patience I need and whose insights I cherish. Her careful reading and incisive edits have made this book better than I could have made it myself.