Acknowledgements

Writing has always been a passion of mine, but I didn’t have the confidence or infrastructure to follow through. Because of the amazing support of my writing team and grant funding from (insert the grant here), I was able to write and publish my first book. Thanks to Vince Mussehl for his mad organizational skills, but more importantly for being a consistent positive voice in my ear – cheering me on. I am grateful for Sam Rubenzer and her creative, beautiful brain, and to Sophia Dramm for understanding my desire to make the language student-friendly and grammatically correct.

I also want to thank my dad, Neil Hovind. For years, he worked as a trusted servant in the community where I was raised. He connected impoverished families to resources for income in his early years of work and finished his career writing grants to develop a local food bank. He taught me to always put out a hand for others and to do it with a smile.

A special thank you to my mom, Linda, for always making me laugh, and finally to my sister, Christine, and my daughters, Hope and Jillian, for their undying support and love. When I told the three of them that my college invited me to write this book, they were not surprised. Instead, they were proud and excited with every chapter completed. Thanks for always believing in me.