| "The loneliness of the long-distance runner" is simultaneously the most appropriate and inappropriate metaphor for the writing of this book. On one hand, it brings to mind long hours spent alone, some glorious, some excruciating, moving toward a goal at times elusive, at times imminent. On the other hand, this book, like most books, is a social product, the result of a multitude of contributions from friends and colleagues. |
| I am enormously grateful to the following people for the interest they brought to this project. Will Wright and Sue Fisher offered their help and suggestions from the beginning to the end of the study. Rosemary Taylor and Nicole Rafter encouraged me to turn the research into a book, and I have benefited from their critical interest. Joined more recently but with equal intensity by Stephen Fox, these friends read drafts and provided a model for how exciting intellectual exchange can be. |
| Others contributed by reading individual chapters, offering editorial suggestions, or stimulating conversation. I would like to thank Rae Lesser Blumberg, Kate Ermenc, Joseph Gusfield, Robert Hahn, Evelyn Fox Keller, Jane Leserman, Bud Mehan, Joseph Rouse, Catherine Ryan, Wendy Sanford, Marlie Wasserman, and Irving Zola. I also want to thank all of the peoplemedical staff and women patientswho agreed to participate in this study; Suffolk University reference librarians Kathy Maio and Joe Middleton; secretarial staff Cindy Morley, Annalisa Kebadjian, and Frank Pellegrino; and Patricia Smith, editor at the University of Pennsylvania Press, who has made the publishing process smooth and steady. |
| My son, Drew Todd, in his usual wonderful way, offered his enthusiasm for and pride in my career, leading me to believe that behind every happy, successful, single parent stands a supportive child. |
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