It is no exaggeration when I say that there are some people to whom I owe a lifetime debt of gratitude. When I undertook this project I was still quite ill, and many people made it possible for me to continue forward with their generosity of spirit and kindness, going the extra mile. Without the continued support and effort of Wendy Francisco, I doubt that I would have been able to find an agent, revise the manuscript, get out of bed to write, work through times when I felt blocked, pay expenses related to the book, or edit it. She paid for me to go to the conference where I met my agent, did the artwork and photography and Web site (which she also bought) on time for the conference (she is still the webmaster and creator), encouraged me on the phone every day, paid many of my other expenses, and finally, edited every line with me before I submitted my manuscript to Free Press. Wendy is also the photographer of both pictures on the jacket of this book. She was a relentless and passionate creative partner. We worked together, both of us on headsets, on the phone between Colorado and California, for long hours going over and over the book. It was my first book and her first editing project, so we discussed every aspect of the book until we were, at times, both falling asleep on the phone. We laughed, cried, and relived every moment of this memoir together. After all, it was Wendy, many years ago, who enthusiastically took Wesley into her home as a tiny baby owlet, back when we were roommates. She once delivered kittens while on the phone editing the book with me.
Cáit Reed is another dear friend without whom this book would not have been written, and to whom I owe a lifetime debt of gratitude. Cáit brought me to her house to stay and brought me to her writers’ group, insisting that I read my rough draft aloud to them. They became a fundamental sounding board, and I learned about the industry and craft from them. Cáit also called me every day and said she would “not allow” the project to falter. She listened, cajoled, laughed with me, and cried with me over Wesley and his book. She was also indispensable as an objective adviser and copy editor. When I worked on the last draft, I stayed in her home and she helped me with it.
I was encouraged constantly by my family: Ann (my mother) and Wally Farris, Hack (my father) and Emily O’Brien, Warren and Roberta O’Brien, Alicia O’Brien and Tom Kramer, Janis Truex, Linda Caughran, Karen Sandoval, Carol Gilpin, Gloria Gherhart, my sister Gloria O’Brien Fontenot, Ann Blumberg, my Grandpa Haskell (Hack) O’Brien Sr., Grandma Zimmie O’Brien, and by my friends: Cat Spydell; Brenda Gant; Keith Malone; Arleta Okerson; Don Francisco; the Countess Erin Gravina; Linda Conti; Dr. Chandler; Ruth Vollert; Elizabeth McGrail; Mr. Ehring; Lynne Hannah; MyoMyo San; Mike O’Brien; Henry Law; Aileen, Vern, and Guy Ritter; and many others whose enthusiasm touched my heart and kept me going.
My parents gave me a passionate love of reading and writing from the beginning, and passed on their equally passionate love and understanding of animals. They have been a constant encouragement all my life, never doubting that I could do what I set out to do. My mother has helped me and supported me since I became disabled and is still helping me keep my head above water.
Richard Gee, Cáit’s husband and my lawyer, advised me many times and helped me with all contracts and legal questions.
I want to thank the Southwest Manuscripters Writers’ Group that meets in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Library for teaching me all they knew about writing and the industry, what to expect, and how to make my way through the process of finding publication. In particular I want to thank Jean Shriver for convincing me that I should seek publication, Cat Spydell for pulling the fat out of the fire when I had no idea how to write a book proposal. She set up shop in the library with me, we put all my notes together, and she pulled together the basis for the proposal that we used, while a great horned owl sat outside the window to keep us company. Cheryl Romo constantly encouraged me and was the one who urged me to sign up for the Southern California Writers Conference.
Again, people who did not need to went the extra mile for me. Michael Steven Gregory took special notice of Wesley the Owl and created buzz in the conference before I even got there, as did Wes Albers and Chrissie A. Barnett. This conference taught me so much that it prepared me for the next steps, but most important, it’s where I met my agent, Sally Van Haitsma. I don’t think there is a more dedicated agent anywhere. She was perfect for a new author and has been more than “just” a literary agent by acting as a coach, explainer, mentor, friend, confidante, and ally. She has a work ethic that would make a Puritan blush and never, ever gave up. I am eternally grateful to her for her dedication to the book and to me and her unwavering belief in the project. She went beyond the call of duty by also helping to edit and smooth out the manuscript that we sent to Free Press, offering advice and input on the writing as well.
I also wish to thank Melinda Roth for her help early on with the structure of the manuscript. She was particularly helpful with the first several chapters’ structures and themes.
Wendy was especially insightful with the structure of the last two-thirds of the book, too, and had a lot of good ideas and input. Wendy edited the book with me. She is amazing.
I’ve heard that most books undergo about twelve rewrites before publication. I never believed that, but now I do. I’m not sure how many times I revised the book with help and advice from my editors, but each time, it and I got better, so I’m grateful to everyone who read the manuscript, advised me, critiqued it, and helped with the editing. My parents and sister also critiqued and helped edit the manuscript.
Thank you to Robert S. Nord and Jany Poitras of Heritage Studios for editing video of Wesley and me, creating DVDs and pictures that are now usable. Also many thanks to Line on Line, Inc. for helping to verify and research some of my questions for accuracy.
I also wish to thank the people who loved and accepted Wesley and made his happy life possible: my mother and sister, Wendy, Cáit and Richard, Guy Ritter (who once drove two hundred miles every day to feed Wesley when I had to leave for a funeral), Deborah Hicks, Rich Buhler, Connie Fossa, Raylene, Gene, Kurt Mastellar, Jim Tenneboe, and Dr. Penfield.
Thank you to those of you who answered my many questions and made yourselves available, often going the extra mile: Terry Mingle at Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Dr. Don Kroodsma, Dr. Douglass Coward (Wesley’s veterinarian) and his wonderful staff, Dr. Weldy, Dr. Cleland, Dr. Moscovakis, and all the Caltech postdocs from way back when.
Thank you to Kaiser Permanente for putting together an amazing team of doctors to manage my condition and make this all possible: Dr. Rosenberg, Dr. Felder, and everyone at Kaiser who has helped along the way.
For believing in me before I’d ever been published, I wish to thank Ja-lene Clark and Laura Wood at Council Oak Books.
Special thanks to Jane Goodall for being my inspiration since I was eight years old, for daring to go where no one had gone before, both physically and scientifically. Dr. Goodall continues to find that animals are far more sentient and intelligent than we had ever imagined. She broke down the barrier between humans and our fellow animals, and continues to do so. In spite of her many accolades and accomplishments, she still finds time to help make life better for the little people—villagers, seekers of truth, other wildlife warriors, and the individual animals that need our help.
On a lighter note, I must admit that I would not have gotten through this process without the help of Coca-Cola, Lindt 70% Cacao chocolate, and Irish/Celtic music: the Bothy Band, Paddy Canny, Solas, Altan, and Ashley MacIsaac in particular.
At Free Press, I want to thank editorial assistant Donna Loffredo, who kept everything together, input edits, got all the pictures together, and put in the proper places—she was the Grand Central Station for this project and was always calm and collected. I also want to thank Andrew Paulson, former editorial assistant. Thanks to Jennifer Weidman for her insights. I am also deeply indebted to Andrew Dodds, Carisa Hays, Edith Lewis, Patricia Romanowski, Shannon Gallagher, Eric Fuentecilla, and the whole team at Free Press. Thanks also to the sales and marketing staff for their behind-the-scenes efforts and for the lovely cover. This book would never have become what it is without the passionate care and dedication of my Free Press editor, Leslie Meredith. She is an empath for animals and authors, and is especially involved and attentive in a way that is very rare and dear. She poured her heart and soul into Wesley the Owl, improving it without changing its essence, understanding intuitively where to add, where to take away, sculpting, shaping, and shining it. She always had time for me and my new-author questions and concerns, even introducing me to people with whom I can network for the betterment of animals, which is her great passion. There cannot be a better editor anywhere in the world, truly.