Writing is an often solitary process, but it rarely happens alone. This brief email, which I hemmed and hawed over for seven weeks before finally dashing it off and sending it in a thoroughly uncharacteristic burst of un-self-conscious productivity, could not have happened without the support of countless others. While it might be only my name in the sender field, I would be remiss not to acknowledge and thank the many people who helped make it all possible.
I, of course, must begin with the inspiration for this work: the acquaintance who emailed me seven weeks ago, asking a relatively straightforward question that was nevertheless open-ended enough to make it seem like answering it would be unpleasant and difficult, prompting me to do my best not to think about it, until answering it actually did become unpleasant and difficult because first I would have to apologize for putting it off so long. You challenged me in the best way, and I hope you find this email worthy of your readership, even if it is probably arriving six weeks to six weeks and six days later than you expected to receive it.
