Thank you to all the amazing women in my family who have encouraged me through the writing of this book and other books, and through every milestone of my life: my mom, Kathy; my stepmom, Joy; my aunt Patty; my sisters, Jamie and Charlotte; and my sister-cousins, Jody and Jenny. I am part of a family of serious butt-kicking women—from Gramma Dottie on down the line. It makes me fiercely proud.
The men in my family are pretty awesome too. My dad, Jim, and my stepdad, Jeff—thanks for always believing in me. And to Ivo—the best brother-in-law in the world—and my three rock-star nephews, Lukas, Oliver, and Simon: you’re not girls, but I love you anyway!
Thank you to my other family, the McCanns, who are always supportive fans: Viv, who was a smart, strong, funny woman who raised an amazing family; Tom, who loves encouraging his many brilliant granddaughters and great-granddaughters; and the rest of my sisters- and brothers-in-law and their kids. And to Chuck: thank you for all you gave to our family and all you taught us. I miss you—we all do.
Thank you to my husband, Jerry, who was supportive and encouraging even during his hardest times. What would I do without you? And to my kids, Ronan and Fiona, for putting up with my nonstop jabbering about each new girl I wrote about. I love you, McCann Clan!
Thank you to my fabulous girlfriends, many of whom saved me during the writing of this book and the family tragedy that coincided with it. To my college BFFs, Karen Kerr, Bridget Carpenter, Kristin Thielking, and Kristin Hurdle: you are amazing, world-rocking women who inspire me in all that you do. Heifers unite! My Oregon girlfriends—Kristin Doherty (thank you for Nadia), Kenan Smith, Lissa Kaufman, Kelly Burke-Doyle, Marcela Villagran (who even translated some obscure Nicaraguan Spanish for me!), and Beth Nelson—thank you for the meals, the hugs, the daily support and encouragement. You are my Village. I am blessed.
Thank you to the wonderful team (and my “work family”) at Beyond Words Publishing for giving me the chance to flex my writing muscles again, and for the brilliant editing, design, and marketing of the book: Richard Cohn, Michele Ashtiani, Lindsay Easterbrooks-Brown, Emmalisa Sparrow Wood, Devon Smith, Jackie Hooper, and Whitney Diffenderfer. And thank you to the stellar folks at Simon & Schuster who have done such a wonderful job of publicizing and selling this series. And a huge thanks to Jen Weaver-Neist, editor extraordinaire, for your careful combing and thoughtful suggestions, for catching all my stupid mistakes, and for making my writing so much better. Thank God for editors!
And my final thanks goes to Emily Einolander, my writing assistant. Emily worked tirelessly and passionately on this book with me. She found great resources—books, articles, and videos—and then helped me wade through them to find the juicy bits. She was my first reader and editor for every word on these pages. Thanks to Emily, this book is something I’m really proud of. There is no way I could have finished it without you, Emily. I am eternally grateful.