To the loved ones who have been angels in my life over the years and have helped contribute to this book in some way.

~ To Maggie Camp for all of the love and steadfastness that you have given to me.
~ To Dr. Connie Hernandez for your friendship and inspiration.
~ To Shastina Free for the many years of love and support.
~ To Dominique Free for being there when a lot of this all began.
~ To my children, Jon and Adam for the blessings of being a parent.
~ To my parents who provided me with the challenges that needed to become
    who I am.
~ To my grandmother, Dora for her never ending love to me.
~ To Siri, Aslan, Rikki, Gemini, Moon, and She-ra for all the love and purrs you
    brought into my life.
~ To Alana Wolfe for her extraordinary work editing the original manuscript.
~ A special thank you to my wonderful publishers, Sandy Smith and Karen Hoxeng,
   and to the text/cover designer, Richard Kharibian, for his exquisite design.

~ And for my teacher in life, love, and all that is good—my beloved Songbird.