Acknowl­edgments
When my first book was published in 2004, I had three very young ­ children. My
husband and parents had assisted me with child care and keeping sane while I com-
pleted my research. Now, almost 13 years ­later, my ­children are teen­agers who ­
don’t need me as much anymore, so the burden has also been lifted from my hus-
band and parents.
My parents, Russ and Angela Pisano, have always been my biggest supporters.
I’m quite sure my husband, Peter Robertiello, perfected his golf game ­ every day I
said I was “busy working on the book” or too busy to go to lunch. I thank him for
always telling me he knew I could do it—­from writing my dissertation, to becom-
ing a professor, to having ­children, to writing articles and books. He’s never doubted
my abilities, even when I doubted myself.
I’d especially like to extend my gratitude to my ­ children: Brie, Gigi, and Joey.
They are my motivation and my biggest accomplishment. They push me to be the
best at every­thing I do, as a mom, and educator, and as a writer. I hope I did not
take away too much time from them, and I also hope that watching me teach, read,
and write has taught them that hard work does pay off.
I am grateful to my students at Felician University for being understanding if I
was stressed out about meeting a deadline, and for the endless times they had to
hear me talk about “the book.” I also want to thank my colleagues at Felician, who
have gone out of their way to support me.
I extend deep gratitude for the editors at ABC-­CLIO—­Kevin Hillstrom and Lori
Hobkirk. Kevin originally approached me about the proj­ect, and Lori worked
endlessly—we emailed too often! Her patience and support is much appreciated.
Fi­nally, I thank my friends, the “Lunello Crew” and the “Aruba Crew,” for put-
ting up with me when I was tense and when I complained about how much work
I had to do. I know I was sometimes referred to as the killjoy when the group pro-
posed driving to Atlantic City at midnight or hopping on a plane to Florida with
no bathing suits. But as we know, anything worth ­doing is worth the sacrifice. I
am thankful to ­those who gave up quality time with me so I could complete this
proj­ect.
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