Bruce D. Perry acknowledgments:
The greatest contributors to this book are those I cannot acknowledge by name: the hundreds of maltreated and traumatized children who continue to shape my evolving understanding of their condition and therapeutic needs. I am honored to have worked with each of them—and I thank them for their grace, for their courage, and for their willingness to share their pain so that others might benefit. I hope their strength and spirit comes through on these pages and that we have done justice to their stories.
I would also like to thank a series of brilliant scientists and gifted clinician-researchers for the wisdom and guidance they provided throughout my professional career. These include Drs. Seymour Levine, Charles Sorenson, David U’Prichard, Jon Stolk, Earl Giller, and Steve Southwick. I thank my insightful clinician-mentors, especially Drs. Jarl Dyrud and Richard Kaufman. In addition, I was fortunate to have a series of administrative mentors who provided time, lab space, resources, and guidance, most notably Drs. Bennett Leventhal and Stuart Yudofsky. My primary neuroscience collaborators, Drs. Lewis Seiden, Al Heller, and Bill Woolverton, also deserve mention. Further, I am deeply indebted to Drs. Lenore Terr, Robert Pynoos, and Frank Putnam—and many other pioneer clinicians and researchers who inspired me. Space does not permit me to list them all.
I also wish to acknowledge here the work and ongoing inspiration of author and attorney Andrew Vachss. Over the years, he has been generous with his wisdom and guidance in shaping my work. He has helped me ask the right questions. He is true north in a murky world.
In addition, I am grateful to the current and former Fellows and staff of The ChildTrauma Academy. The compassion these clinicians show for troubled children has always been inspiring, and the intellectual stimulation they provide is priceless. First among equals is Dr. Robin Fancourt, a remarkable and selfless pediatrician who has transformed an entire country by her efforts. Special thanks are due to the present ChildTrauma Academy leadership, Jana Rosenfelt, Dr. Chris Dobson, and Stephanie Schick, and to my current primary clinical research collaborators in the CTA, Drs. Rick Gaskill and Gizane Indart.
Our work over the years has been supported by many generous and compassionate individuals. I especially wish to thank here Irving Harris, Jeffery Jacobs, Maconda Brown O’Connor, and Richard and Meg Weekley. Further gratitude is due to Jo Ann Miller, editorial director of Basic Books, for her editorial sculpting and support and to Andrew Stuart, our agent, for his hard work and encouragement during this project.
My greatest thanks, however, must go to my family. My father, Duncan, and mother, Donna, have many gifts: curiosity, humor, compassion, industry. My own gifts reflect the world they gave me as a child. For that and so much more, I am profoundly grateful. But of all my family, my utmost gratitude must be reserved for my wife, Barbara. She has tolerated moves, time away from home, too much time working at home, and me, in general. Our children are my greatest joy and my greatest teachers. My family continues to provide the love, strength, support and inspiration that sustains me.
Finally, this book exists because of Maia Szalavitz. I am extremely grateful that we have started this collaboration. She is a hard-working and superb writer with a remarkable capacity to digest scientific concepts across many disciplines and translate these concepts for general readers. Most importantly, she has a big heart. I hope you have enjoyed reading this book as much as we have enjoyed writing it.
2017—
All I wrote earlier is so very true, and I continue to be a lucky and grateful man. Over the last ten years, I have continued to benefit from the courage and insights of the children and families we work with. It is inspiring and humbling to see the resilience and grace with which so many carry the burdens of loss, pain, and trauma. My professional growth has been aided by friendships with colleagues, including Drs. Kristie Brandt, Gene Griffin, Stuart Ablon, Sandy Bloom, Nelba Marquez-Greene, and Ed Tronick. The work of The ChildTrauma Academy has expanded, and I am grateful for the hard work and leadership of Jana Rosenfelt, Emily Perry, Diane Vines and Steve Graner. Drs. Erin Hambrick and Thomas Brawner (the big data genius) have helped lead our research efforts. Our web-based assessment model has been possible because of the brilliance and hard work of Rob Smith. Finally, I am grateful for the work of The ChildTrauma Academy Fellows, associates, and all of our NMT and NME learning network–too many to name, but visit ChildTrauma.org to see the remarkable collaborative of caring professionals I am fortunate to work with.
Maia Szalavitz acknowledgments:
It has been a real honor to work with one of my scientific heroes, Bruce D. Perry, and I couldn’t have asked for a better collaborator. I thank him first and foremost for his kindness, wisdom, generosity, support, and inspiration and for allowing me to help this book come into being. As a science writer, my idea of heaven is being paid to ask important questions of great minds—and this project involved just that. Kudos are due as well from me to our agent Andrew Stuart for his guidance and help in shaping this book from proposal onwards and to Jo Ann Miller for elegant editing and support. Special thanks to Lisa Rae Coleman for her fine transcription, friendship, and sharp wit, and to Trevor Butterworth and stats.org for their ongoing support. My mom, Nora Staffanell, and my Dad, Miklos Szalavitz, my siblings Kira Smith (and her children, Aaron, Celeste, and Eliana), Sarah, and Ari Szalavitz also deserve credit. As ever, my gratitude also goes to Peter McDermott for making both my work and my life better.