Tarkan - My Mothers Breast: Daughters Face Their Mothers Cancer

I am deeply grateful to the daughters and mothers who showed great courage in sharing their stories for this book. They spoke with honesty and candor and with the sole purpose and hope of helping other women who may find themselves venturing up this difficult trail after them. They are Caleen, Cynthia, Felicia, Jennifer, Jill, Judy, Julie, Karen, Kathie, Lauren, Lisa, Marcia, Mickey, Sandy, Stephanie, Sunshine, and Suzanne and others who chose to remain anonymous. I am also grateful to the many other daughters, sisters, and mothers who talked to me, whose stories I could not include, but whose thoughts and experiences are intricately woven into the fabric of the book.

My deepest thanks belong to my father, Stuart Tarkan, who, after the death of my mother, filled the roles of both mother and father for my sister and me. He is a generous and caring man, my oldest and best friend, who has encouraged me, consoled me, guided me, taught me, and most recently has endured my difficult questions about my mothers illness for this book. I also owe thanks to my husband, Andrew, whose love and support kept me going through this emotionally difficult endeavor.

This book would not exist without my agents: Connie Clausen was the first to understand my vision for the book, a vision that she sharpened with her insight and nourished with her encouragement. I was fortunate to have worked with her and known her before her sudden death in September 1997. I continued the project with her associate, Stedman Mays, whose warmth, enthusiasm, and humor have kept me inspired and confident through the writing process. From the beginning, my editor, Camille Cline, believed in the importance of this book and its contribution to filling the void for daughters. I am deeply grateful to her for helping me to achieve my vision.

Christine Many, my research assistant, worked after hours to help with the medical research. Lynn Ermann and Hilary Macht took time out of their own journalism schedule to read my early drafts, and offered insightful and creative feedback. My mentors, Lynne Cusack and Lorraine Daigneault, two brilliant and generous women, have guided me at different stages of my journalism career and have given me valuable advice on this book.

Im grateful to the following people who provided their expertise and knowledge on the subjects of mother-daughter relationships, living with sickness, death and dying, and breast cancer. They are Evelyn Bassoff, Barbara Bernhardt, Margaret Burke, Bruce Compas, Robert T. Croyle, Marguerite Eng, Sydney Ey, Sandra Haber, Hester Hill, Roberta Hufnagel, Christina Pozo Kaderman, Kathryn Kash, Caryn Lerman, Frances Marcus Lewis, Sue Miesfeldt, Julianne Oktay, June Peters, Adrienne Ressler, Gladys Rosenthal, Allison Ross, Pat Spicer, Jill Stopfer, David Wellisch, and the women at the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Cancer Care, Inc., and SHARE.