Those of you who remember record players probably recall the infamous “broken record” — which kept repeating the same sounds over and over. Maybe that’s me, but I thought I’d share a few more words of thanks. I finally finished editing the copy-edited manuscript of my book, a horrific chore that took three weeks, nearly full time. Now the book is really, really, really finished — entirely in the hands of the publishers And my last task was to compose the dedication, which goes at the front, and the Acknowledgements, which go at the end. Here they are…
Dedication
For the members of my blog community, who have generously shared their experiences and insights, and for the five who trusted me to tell their stories here.
Acknowledgements
After writing a book about my own passage through addiction, I needed to learn what my experiences had in common with those of others. So I began a regular blog that attracted a bright, boisterous, and empathic community populated by former and recovering addicts. The many comments following my posts and the guest posts contributed by members provided a wealth of insights and information that I could not have hoped to find elsewhere. I want to thank each and every one of the people who’ve engaged in this conversation with me. You inspired me to write the present book, and you helped me understand addiction well enough to feel I could make a worthwhile contribution.
The five former addicts whose stories I tell deserve the gratitude of everyone attempting to comprehend addiction by combining private experience with other forms of knowledge. The people who volunteered for this project donated many hours to respond to my questions, and they did so with unstinting energy and honesty, dredging up details from experiences they might have preferred to forget. When wearing my interviewer’s hat, I often felt like a dentist drilling deeply, painfully, until I unearthed every chunk of my respondent’s past. They bore up bravely, shining the beam of self-examination wherever I asked them to look. I am deeply grateful.
Lisa Kaufman, my editor at PublicAffairs, helped me upgrade my understanding of the rehab world, past and present, until I’d acquired the perspective I needed to portray it sensitively and accurately. But I’m most grateful to Lisa for encouraging me to follow the implications of my own model from theoretical abstractions to concrete directions for practice. She convinced me that, for many readers, that’s where the book had to land. And she was right.
Tim Rostron, my editor at Doubleday Canada, has now been my writing guru through two books, and I continue to celebrate my good fortune. Tim’s mastery of the deep and subtle currents of English and his dedication to transparency and flow have nursed my growth from scientist to writer.
I benefited hugely from the seasoned perspective of two unpaid editors, Matt Robert and Cathy O’Connor. As a pioneer in the rehab community and a sparkling commentator on current trends, Matt took me behind the scenes of the rehab/recovery world. He read most if not all of these chapters, showed me what I was missing in both form and substance, and helped me smooth out terms and concepts that might otherwise get caught in the reader’s throat. Cathy generously dipped into her editorial talents to guide me through the no-man’s-land between what I thought I was explaining clearly and what readers were likely to grasp. There were jagged craters everywhere, most in places I would not have checked. Cathy pointed them out with patience and precision and helped me figure out how to fill them. I am so very grateful to both of you.
Other treatment experts came to my aid. I am particularly indebted to Shaun Shelly, who kept pace with every conceptual step I took, in the book and in the blog, and harvested examples to help support our shared understanding of addiction. And my thanks to Peter Sheath, who spearheaded the Birmingham Model described in the last chapter and infected me with the courage, creativity, and optimism he has brought to the treatment world. [Both of these men have been frequent contributors to this blog.]
My most generous and dependable editor remains Isabela Granic, my partner for eighteen years. Your steady supply of gist was the mortar by which my details could cohere and settle. You continued pointing me toward what I’m good at and reminding me of its worth. And you stoked the fires whenever I got discouraged or just tired. This book could not have existed without you.
Finally, Ruben and Julian, thank you for letting me work all those hours when I should have been playing with you. Ruben, thanks for adjusting my chair. Julian, thanks for the cuddles. I’ll try to make it up to you both now that the book is finished.
To Matt, Shaun, Peter, my five interviewees, and all the rest of you — Thank You!
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