by Deirdre Bair
My children, Vonn Scott and Katherine Tracy (Katney) Bair, whose growing-up years paralleled my biographical adventures, were the best of sports to put up with me throughout their childhoods. Now that they are in their adulthoods, I appreciate how seldom they roll their eyes at my antics. Their support for so many years means more to me than I can say. I am delighted that our family’s closeness continues in our next generation when my granddaughter, Isabel Anna Courtelis, tells me how my adventures in forging a feminist identity have value for her generation.
I began to write this book during the academic year 2017–2018, when I held a fellowship at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute (UCHI). I cannot express my gratitude strongly enough to Director Michael P. Lynch and Associate Director Alexis Boylan for selecting me to participate in the brilliant program and to enjoy the congenial working spaces UCHI offered. Talking to them about their research and writing has enriched mine tremendously. I also thank all my UCHI colleagues for their generous suggestions and support, especially Harry van der Hulst, Tracy Llanera, and Alicia LaGuardia-LoBianco. My administrative needs were smoothed by Jo-Ann Waide-Wunchel, while Nasya al-Saidy patiently guided me through my various computer woes.
As my UConn year was winding down in March 2018, I took a tumble that resulted in a fractured left tibia and fibula. I spent a month in a rehabilitation hospital, another non-weight-bearing six weeks at home, and a long and slow ten-month progression to learn how to walk again. My beloved sister, Linda B. Rankin, gave up six weeks of her life to be my nurse. My dear friend Allison Stokes replaced her to provide another week of constant care. My children were there every step of the way, and my brother and sister-in-law, Vincent J. and Judith Bartolotta, gave me much needed emotional support. My son-in-law, Niko Courtelis, cheered me with a constant stream of stamps and cards. Visits from Tracy Crutchfield and Cynthia Stretch got me through many dreary hospital days. Deborah Henderson saw to my shopping and household errands. Thomas Henderson was always ready to solve any problem—computer or otherwise. My Oronoque Forest neighbors gave good cheer through frequent visits, and I thank Linda deVicino, Janis Eisenberg, Arnold DeMaio, Gary and Susan Toole, Arline Winters, and Jack Zalcman. Dr. Michael Patrick Leslie was the surgeon who made me into a bionic woman with metal plates and screws, and physical therapists Bohdanna (Billie) T. Zazulak and Wendy Novick helped me learn to walk again. Dr. Tara Sanft was an inspiration.
Flowers, phone calls, and visits from friends were lifesavers, and I thank Neil Baldwin, Ted Botha, Patricia de Maio, Jane Kinney Denning, Walter Donahue, Theodor Itten, Evelyne Gottwalz-Itten, Diane Jacobs, Susan Munger, Donald and Diane Pette, Leon and Myrna Bell Rochester, and Maeve Slavin.
I owe special thanks to Sydney Stern for never hesitating to join me enthusiastically on adventures biographical and otherwise. Marion Meade helped me to overcome my trepidation of revealing myself with her sound advice and encouragement. Colleagues at the Women Writing Women’s Lives Seminar cheered me on, as did my colleagues on the Authors Guild Council, where I extend special thanks to Mary Rasenberger and Diana Rowan Rockefeller. My friend and fellow traveler down Beauvoir byways, Mary Lawrence Test, was the best first reader and first editor any writer could wish for, and I can’t imagine submitting a book for publication without her initial response to it. I also thank Mark Lehberg for explaining how best to write about legal issues. Terrance Gelenter smoothed my way every time I was in Paris while writing this book. I benefited from conversations with Rosemary Sullivan, biographer and poet, who always had a theme or idea worth pursuing. And I will never forget how Nancy MacKnight was a calming presence at the nervous start of my Beckett years.
I thank my visionary publisher, Nan A. Talese, for this, my third book under her imprint. Daniel Meyer has my admiration and respect for his guidance throughout the editorial process. I thank Carolyn Williams for additional editorial care, Emma Joss for publicity, and Sarah Engelmann for marketing. Liz Duvall was my excellent copy editor, and thanks to Bette Alexander, Maria Carella, Lorraine Hyland, and Michael J. Windsor at Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. Kristine Dahl was not only my trusted agent, she also helped me to persevere through shared stories of broken-foot adventures. I also thank her assistant, Tamara Kawar, for her attention to my many needs and questions.
Most of all, I thank Samuel Beckett and Simone de Beauvoir for allowing me to spend the better part of two decades in their company and for the extraordinary opportunity to write about their lives and work. It was a privilege for which I will be eternally grateful.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deirdre Bair received the National Book Award for Samuel Beckett: A Biography. Her biographies of Simone de Beauvoir and Carl Jung were finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Simone de Beauvoir biography was chosen by The New York Times as a Best Book of the Year. Her biographies of Anaïs Nin and Saul Steinberg were both New York Times Notable Books. Her most recent book is Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend.
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