Acknowledgments

I thank my parents, who have both been gone for an incredibly long time, for teaching me resiliency and manners as a child. Thanks for letting me play dress up as a young girl and for allowing me to play the role of chief executive officer (CEO) when all the other girls wanted to play princess. Thanks for never squashing my dreams.

I thank my two sons, Tim Clifford and Brooks Clifford, and their significant others, Chris Hiedeman and Oksana Sukhovirska, for being the loves of my life. You bring me joy and laughter daily. Skylar, you, too.

My brothers, Greg and James Meyer, and my beloved sister, Pam, and her husband, Nick Haros, are in my heart and on my mind daily. I love how we are all so close, even though far away. Thanks for always being here for me.

To my extended family: Stephanie Meyer, Kristin and JT Thompson, the boys (Ryken, Kian, and Sorin), Bette, John, and Bill Clifford, thank you for being there for me and my boys as I forged my career and battled cancer. I am forever in your debt.

To Matt Holt, my publisher; Adrianna Johnson, my editor; and Deborah Schindlar and all the folks at John Wiley & Sons, thanks for helping me close this deal.

A special thanks to Bob Brown and Bill Bartels, who taught me everything I needed to know to close a deal in my years at SPAR Marketing Services. We had it all going on, and it was an amazing—and fun—journey. Thanks for believing in me.

I couldn't begin to thank all my friends, but I'll try: Dr. Dan Ahlberg, Mary ...

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