Thank You! The mem­oir begins with the author extend­ing heart­felt appre­ci­a­tion to all those who played a sig­nif­i­cant role in bring­ing this book to life. The first men­tion is of Deb­o­rah Davis, a trust­ed col­lab­o­ra­tor, researcher, and friend who pro­vid­ed unwa­ver­ing sup­port through­out the writ­ing process. The author cred­its her not only for her research skills but also for her patience and encour­age­ment dur­ing moments of doubt. The jour­ney of writ­ing this mem­oir was not an easy one, and with­out Deborah’s keen insights and steady moti­va­tion, the author believes it would not have been pos­si­ble. The author also express­es grat­i­tude to David Drake at Crown Pub­lish­ing, whose belief in the project was instru­men­tal in its suc­cess. Addi­tion­al­ly, edi­tor Gillian Blake is acknowl­edged for her keen eye and abil­i­ty to refine the nar­ra­tive, ensur­ing that the mem­oir remained true to its pur­pose while being engag­ing for read­ers.

The author fur­ther extends thanks to agent Esther New­berg for her con­stant advo­ca­cy and pro­fes­sion­al guid­ance, which made the pub­lish­ing process smoother and more man­age­able. Speak­ing agent Steven Bar­clay is also appre­ci­at­ed for his con­tin­u­ous encour­age­ment, remind­ing the author of the impor­tance of shar­ing per­son­al sto­ries with the world. The grat­i­tude extends beyond the lit­er­ary realm, as the author fond­ly recalls recon­nect­ing with old friends from high school, includ­ing James Lap­ine, Janet Sloat­man Files, Wendy Her­lands Barens­feld, and Chris­tine “Buzzy” Bruck­n­er. These indi­vid­u­als, though sep­a­rat­ed by time, con­tributed mean­ing­ful rec­ol­lec­tions that helped shape the book’s nar­ra­tive. Their shared expe­ri­ences allowed the author to re-exam­ine past events with fresh per­spec­tive, mak­ing the mem­oir rich­er and more authen­tic.

The acknowl­edg­ments con­tin­ue with a trib­ute to those who sup­port­ed the author’s pro­fes­sion­al endeav­ors, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the culi­nary world. Friends such as Sarah Ester­ling, Lee Ester­ling, Shawn War­ren, Mar­tine Sharp, Bet­ti­na Thomp­son Stern, T. R. Pescod, Hunt MacWilliams, and Tedd Libath are rec­og­nized for their con­tri­bu­tions in pre­serv­ing the ear­ly his­to­ry of the Bare­foot Con­tes­sa. Their sto­ries, laugh­ter, and cama­raderie were instru­men­tal in cre­at­ing a vibrant and endur­ing brand that remains beloved today. Frank New­bold, Susan New­bold, Car­olyn Kast­ner, and Claire Roth are also men­tioned for their sup­port and com­pan­ion­ship, as well as the late Dick Erb, who influ­enced the author’s culi­nary style and approach to food. A spe­cial note is giv­en to Chip Gib­son, the first pub­lish­er to believe in the Bare­foot Con­tes­sa books, along­side Pam Krauss, both of whom were key fig­ures in mak­ing the author’s cook­books wide­ly avail­able to read­ers.

The mem­oir also high­lights the role of long­time col­lab­o­ra­tors such as Bar­bara Libath and Suzan­na Giu­liano, whose ded­i­ca­tion and vision helped estab­lish the foun­da­tion of the author’s busi­ness. Their sup­port, along with that of Cindy Massey, Lidey Heuck, Kristi­na Felix-Ibar­ra, Rose Brown, and Mica Bahn, cre­at­ed a work envi­ron­ment that fos­tered both cre­ativ­i­ty and excel­lence. These indi­vid­u­als were not just col­leagues but became part of an extend­ed fam­i­ly, help­ing the author nav­i­gate the many chal­lenges of build­ing a last­ing brand. Their team­work and ded­i­ca­tion ensured that every cook­book, every recipe, and every tele­vi­sion appear­ance was exe­cut­ed with pas­sion and pre­ci­sion.

A deeply per­son­al moment in the acknowl­edg­ments comes when the author dis­cuss­es recon­nect­ing with their broth­er, Ken. After years of dis­tance, the writ­ing process served as an oppor­tu­ni­ty to redis­cov­er shared child­hood mem­o­ries, lead­ing to a stronger bond. The author reflects on how their indi­vid­ual jour­neys in life had tak­en them in dif­fer­ent direc­tions, yet those ear­ly expe­ri­ences remained a com­mon thread that tied them togeth­er. This redis­cov­ery of famil­ial con­nec­tion added anoth­er lay­er of mean­ing to the mem­oir, rein­forc­ing the idea that per­son­al his­to­ry is an ever-evolv­ing sto­ry.

The acknowl­edg­ments con­clude with a heart­felt trib­ute to Jef­frey, the author’s devot­ed hus­band. His unwa­ver­ing belief in the author’s dreams, his patience through count­less drafts and edits, and his endur­ing love made every step of this jour­ney worth­while. The author rec­og­nizes Jef­frey as not only a life part­ner but also as a pil­lar of strength and inspi­ra­tion. His encour­age­ment has been a con­stant source of moti­va­tion, allow­ing the author to pur­sue cre­ative and pro­fes­sion­al endeav­ors with con­fi­dence. Through this final note of grat­i­tude, the mem­oir serves as a reminder that suc­cess is rarely achieved alone—it is built upon the sup­port, guid­ance, and love of those who stand beside us.