Acknowledgments
Our deepest thanks go to Eric Ashworth who brought us together with our editor, Anton Mueller. Our thanks also go to Neil Olson who succeeded Eric at Donadio and Ashworth, and was always there when we needed help. This book took nearly five years to create. We are grateful to our editor, Anton Mueller, who stood by us as we progressed from casual lunches to frenzied office meetings and around-the-clock phone calls over piles of seemingly endless manuscript which was worked, reworked, and then worked again. And hats off to his assistant, Lissa Smith, whose cheerful disposition and tireless efforts on the part of the manuscript were of immeasurable value. In addition, we would like to express our special thanks to Nadia Malinovich, who read countless interviews as well as large chunks of the edited manuscript and offered useful commentary. We would also like to thank Bonnie Anderson whose suggestions have helped to clarify the structure of the book.
Before we had interviews to edit and edited interviews to choose from, we had the challenge of finding a diverse group of women who were willing and able to tell us their stories. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, and perfect strangers were enormously helpful in assisting us with our search. Because they are so numerous, and in order to protect the anonymity of those interviewees who requested it, we offer a general statement of thanks-without the extra time that so many people took out of their days to look up a number, brainstorm, or make a phone call, we wouldn't have had a book. And to those people who went above and beyond our greatest expectations, making numerous phone calls and -doing serious legwork, we are especially grateful.
The rest of our thanks are separate.
Myriam Miedzian
I was very fortunate in finding someone as competent, reliable, and accurate as Robin Vaccai-Yess to transcribe my interviews. During the time that she worked for me, Robin went from being a single woman to a married mother of two. So when, at the end of our project, our editor, Anton Mueller, suggested adding a contemporary high-tech birthing story to contrast with some of the older women's stories, I turned to Robin. Her vitality and sense of humor are obvious in that story as well as in her supermarket story. My thanks also go to Alexandra Wall, who did an excellent job with research and computer work.
I am deeply grateful to my husband, Gary Ferdman, for his unwavering moral support throughout the project and his patience through the final months when everything was put on hold and he often referred to himself as the "book widower." I also want to thank him for reading and commenting on the introduction to the book.
Alisa Malinovich
My first thanks go to my cousin Lynne Maietta, whose early enthusiasm for and willingness to assist me with the project went unmatched. As the interviews piled up, I -became eternally grateful to Robin Aabel-mother, llama raiser, and transcriber extra-ordinaire. Her work was thorough, and I always enjoyed our conversations. Towards the end I appreciated the help of Elissa Descoteau, Claudia Mogel, and Ariana Speyer, who read and commented on large chunks of the manuscript. To Bonnie Anderson, my gratitude for being the first reader of the preface. Finally, I would like to thank my dad and the relatives, friends, and housemates past and present who offered their love and support on what often seemed like an endless journey.