I’m enjoying Paul and my friends, feasting on pizza, counting my calories as always, and nipping negative thoughts as best I can. Every morning I take a new and exhilarating pleasure in my first sip of steaming coffee as I look out my window at a changed and beautiful and fascinating world. I do not exaggerate when I say I can’t wait to take my shower, button on a snappy white self-ironed Lands’ End shirt and well-worn Levis, and get out and about to see what will happen next.
So—was it better to have it and then lose it? Yes, yes, yes! Even though I lived with horrible bag lady fears of losing it all, now that those financial fears have materialized, I’m in pretty good shape and looking to what’s next. Experiences—good and bad, exciting and boring, tragic and absurd—make up a life. Not to have lived to the fullest is the saddest, most irresponsible life I can think of.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I continue to be astonished at the generosity of friends and colleagues who have responded to my AMF situation. Where would I be without Ed Victor, my very dear friend, the superagent, who sold this book and has been in touch with me practically every day since December 11. And ditto Ellen Archer, Hyperion’s fast-acting publisher, who immediately tuned in to the bag lady fears that so many women face and contributed many important editorial ideas to this book.
It was not a piece of cake to write about my MF experience and it felt as if I were reliving those horrible days as I went over the manuscript. Barbara Jones was a gentle and determined editor who helped in every way. Gillian Blake, an editorial mastermind, was a key force in shaping the book, and her additions and suggestions have been invaluable. Tina Brown of TheDailyBeast.com instantly gave me a blogging podium to vent from, and Jane Spencer helped to structure my rants.
What would I do without Richard Story and Alex Mayes Birnbaum and Patty Matson? They literally took me by the hand and helped me back to sanity with their love, kindness, and pragmatism.
I absolutely could not have survived without Bob Littman.
Tommy and Alice—and Maude, Joseph, Abigail, and our Louise—there’s no way to thank you adequately for your small and large kindnesses! Patty Marx gave me many serious ideas for this book while making me laugh so much that I almost choked to death on a Diet Coke. Paul Wilmot knows how to make the sun shine, and while doing that serves up the best stone crabs and champagne on the East Coast. Buffy Easton’s insights, sharp eye, and smart advice will always be heeded. And Sarah Rosenthal is a friend who can restore emotional balance with a telephone call.
The thoughtfulness of friends, colleagues, and strangers was something I could never have imagined. I could write paragraphs on each one, but I know if you got this far, you most probably want me to wrap it up. So, in alphabetical order, here you are…I’ve probably left out out more than I’ve included, but you all know who you are and I hope you know how grateful I am to you.
Chris Albrecht; Annette and Joe Allen; Joanne Casullo, one of the most generous women I’ve ever met; Cathryn Collins; Amy Fine Collins; Sheila Donnelly and Paul Theroux; Jamie Drake; Michael Fuchs, my extraordinary friend and dealer; major life-savers Barbara and Eric Hippeau; most amazing Jane, Michael, and Katie Hoffman; Gerry Imber; Jae Man Joo; Munnu Kasliwal all the way from Jaipur; Anne Keating; compassionate Eleanore and Michael Kennedy; Judy Kent; Phil Kent, stealth adviser; Andrew Kirk; Julie Lavin; Suzanne Lengyel, my banker through worse and better; Evvie Lipper and Bill Speck; Imke Littman; Harry Lodge, physician and soul-doctor; Michael and Alice Martell, lifelong life advisers; Tom and Lucille Mathews; ever-there Evan McGlinn; super strategist Sandi Mendelson; my stalwart Stuart Miller; Burtie Minkoff of the eagle eye and the huge heart; Patty Newburger and Brad Wechsler; sister pal Nancy Novogrod; Priscilla Ratazzi, a true friend in deed; angelo Steve Rubin; fellow-traveler Deborah Sharpe; Sharon Stein; Susan Steinthal, a brilliant legal tactician; Bettina Sulser; J. D. Talasek; Stefano Tonchi; Stellene Vollandes; the ever-generous Nick von Hoffman (and Schnitzel); Leslie Westreich; Anna Wintour; and Penelope Weld of the unforgettable letter.
Because too much type gives eye-glaze, here’s another part of the same list: Will Ameringer; Carole Baron; Marie Brenner; Holly Brubach; Larry Burstein; Amy Cappellazzo; Susan Carey; Richard Cohen; David Patrick Columbia; Faye Cone; Jennifer Crandall and Zach Story; Suzanne Donaldson; Lisa Gabor; Sarah Gavlak; Adam Gopnik and Martha Parker; Betsy Gotbaum; David and Melanie Holland; Stephen Jacoby; Joel Kassimir; Peter Kaufman, early responder and major connector; Frank and Bobbi Kitchens; Wayne Koestenbaum; Leslie Krause; Iris Marden and the Fedorkos; David Maupin; David Meitus and Angela Westwater; Kathryn Mondadori; Si and Victoria Newhouse; Richard Pandiscio; Jana Pasquel; Christine Romans; Paul Roossin; Donna Rosen; Bernard Scharf; Paul Scherer; Michael and Lisa Schultz, and Maggie and Lucy; Nicholas Sopkin; James Spodnik; Elizabeth Sussman; Andrew and Ann Tisch; Billie Tisch; Laurie Tisch; Elisabeth Tretter; James Truman for fine words and wine; Alfred Vachris and Thomas Molesky, tech gods as well as friends; Emily Vaughan; Carol Ryan Victor; Alex von Bidder; Diane von Furstenburg; Jim and Rita Wetzler; Kyle White, Tommy Buckett, and Hiroshi, who tend the locks; Yolanda; Zezé, Peggy, Doris, and Walter; and Jake Zemansky. And the California contingent—Bob Bookman; Mary Elizabeth and Nancy Eileen, who are friends of Leon’s; and Bruce Vinocur and Jo Ann Chase, aka “Ruthie.”
And to my small and precious family, for providing the solid ground on which I was able to rebuild my equilibrium and regain my sense of humor: John and Julie Rousseau Penney and most enchanting Celeste (who finally found the elusive Tuna B Fish), and Erin and Paul Scott and adorable Otis and Lilah (who unfailingly beats me at Russian bank). And thanks from my soul to Dennis Ashbaugh—steadfast and true.
ALSO BY ALEXANDRA PENNEY
How to Make Love to a Man
How to Make Love to Each Other
Copyright
THE BAG LADY PAPERS. Copyright © 2010 Alexandra Penney. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Hyperion e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition December 2009 ISBN 978-1-4013-9499-8
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