Eve has been the single most arduous creative work that I have ever engaged, a forty-year process of questions, study, and living life. One does not accomplish such a task alone. I am surrounded by a host of family and friends, in-laws and outlaws, a myriad of scholars and thinkers, dreamers, schemers, and artists; each who have contributed in unique and significant ways to this work.
At the center of it all is Kim, who gives me the gift of staying grounded; she believes in me but is not easily impressed. Our children, their spouses, our grandchildren, and the joy that each one brings, makes the work worth the sweat, tears, and prayer. As the ripples move outward, we are surrounded by the incredible friendships of those who continue to cover us with affection and prayers. To name them all would take another book, but these include: Closner, Weston, Foster, the Ninjas and the Posse, Scanlon, Linda Yoder, Graves, Troy Brumell, Miller, the other Miller, Garratt, the Toronto and Vancouver Minions, Huff, TCK family, Larson, Wards, Sand, Jordan, the NE Portland family, Gillis, my Canadian family (Young and Bruneski), including Mom and Dad, Debbie, Tim and their families, the Warren Clan, especially “The Force,” Goff, Marin, Gifford, Henderson, and MacMurray.
Special thanks to C. Baxter Kruger, who talked me off the ledge a couple times when the creative process took me there and has been a consistent and encouraging sounding board as I struggled to weave essential elements of coherent scholarship inside an accessible story. Also to Howard Books and Simon & Schuster, a publisher that has consistently been encouraging, with a special hug to Jonathan Merkh and Carolyn Reidy, who have unequivocally supported this project from the outset.
I have always said that a good editor is worth their weight in gold, so thank you Ami McConnell, Becky Nesbitt, Amanda Rooker, and especially Erin Healy (Erin you were a godsend, truly).
Thank you to the myriad of voices being raised worldwide that will make this century the Century of the Woman, like Jimmy Carter, Stephen Lewis, and Emma Watson (your UN speech was profound); for organizations such as Opportunity International, Stop Demand; and a host of religious, political, business, and philanthropic organizations that are chipping away at the massive inequities in our world, especially those centered on women’s rights and issues.
I drew from many scholars, ranging in expertise from linguistics and antiquities to philosophy, psychology, theology, and science. Again, it would take another book to list them all, but I will highlight only a few. Thank you, Jacques Ellul, who now sits in the great cloud of witnesses, along with Katherine Bushnell. William Law, Karl Barth, and George MacDonald. Thank you too, to Fuz Rana, Hugh Ross, and the folks at Reasons to Believe, who helped me craft the days of creation in a way respectful to both the text and to science.
Another list, too long, would be the music that is the backdrop and sound track of my work, the constant companionship of bards and tune and lyric. My thanks to them is represented in my thanks to Bruce Cockburn, a poet of life’s journey. If I could have gotten the requisite permissions in time, I would have printed the lyrics of his “Creation Dream” and “Broken Wheel” at the back of this novel.
Thank you, Biliske Meiers (Spokane area) and Jay and Jeni Weston (Mt. Hood area) for space and time to concentrate and work. Such gifts are a great kindness.
Framing this project were two men and their families, without whom this project would have never gotten off the ground. Thank you, Dan Polk and Wes Yoder, who oversaw and hammered out each detail, men of integrity and compassion. No one represents my heart better than you two.
Thank you, readers and listeners. I hope this story finds a space inside your world that puts an arm around you and whispers that you have always been worthy of being loved and always will be. Thank you to all our international publishers and readers, we are in this together! I pray this story will bring a little more freedom to us all—women and men.
Finally, at the true center, is the self-giving other-centered love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, displayed so perfectly and extravagantly to us in the person of Jesus. We are learning how to re-turn and trust you, and slowly learning to trust one another as well. Thank you!