friends and family

Although they don't necessarily know much about the web, the rest of these folks know a lot about friendship.

I don't think I could have written this book if I didn't have the very good fortune of living next door to such good friends. Thank you to Kate Gallimore (and Piers Davies, of course) for all the coffee breaks and cups of tea and font-buying sprees, and for literally being there for me throughout the writing of this book.

I also couldn't have written it without my sister and my brothers Robin, Guy, and Glenn who are the best possible people to go through life with. They made me laugh, kept me company, and brought me Chinese take-out when I was too busy writing to leave my apartment. They've been great friends to me, and Guy would argue that they made me who I am by teaching me at an early age to persevere in the face of exhaustion and doubt. They taught me this in the form of "Training Camp," a fun game we'd play that involved training me to do handstands and catch balls, and then having me run around the house each time I missed while they chanted "Training Camp. Training Camp." Without that and without them I would surely be a different person, and I might never have finished this beast of a book.

My father, Richard, also did his share of character-building by encouraging me always to drink my coffee black, do my crosswords in pen, and face up to things that seem difficult. Thanks, Pop-Tart.

Thank you also to The Ladies for their endless support and late-night phone calls. Mady Wallen, Cathy Green, and Emily Simas listened patiently through a lot of very boring answers to the question, "How's the book?" Jen Sey, Rae Meadows, Sarah Blanch, Martha Brockenbrough, and Kristin Windbigler were always willing to talk about the maddening creative process. Lance McDaniel made everything fun. And Tam Edwards was always ready with advice or an ear, even if she made me go to Mary's Fish Camp to get them.

The final acknowledgement is saved for the first person in my life. My mother Shirlene: ballerina, actress, and Revlon girl turned nature photographer, mother, and muse. She played a big role in convincing me to write this book, and she encouraged me along the way with inspirational quotes in adorable emails like this one:

Dear Junie,

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward in the night.
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Love,
Mom
xxxxxx