Behind the Parent Hacks Book: Meet the Parents
The real stars of PARENT HACKS are the parents who shared the hacks featured in the book.
When I started the Parent Hacks blog in 2005, I essentially shouted into the void: DOES ANYONE ELSE KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING? That anyone answered — hundreds of people answered — is still amazing to me. The Parent Hacks community showed me that most of us operate knowing we’re in this together.
Most of hacks in the book represent a moment when a parent paused during his or her crazy-busy-with kids life to email me a tip or photo (from a computer or camera! This was before smart phones!). Some hacks began as comments. Still others were shared by friends on their blogs or circulated on social media.
Different people “discover” the same idea at different times, setting off entirely new waves of forehead smacks and cries of “why didn’t I think of that?”
The Wall of Fame
My editor, Megan, and I went back and forth about how best to visually represent the book’s community origin. After several iterations, we decided the hack contributors’ names would be the first thing you see when you open the book. We dubbed it the “Wall of Fame.” (Next time you pick up the book, look inside the front- and back covers.)
Book designer Jean-Marc Troudec had a hard time getting all the names to fit and still look good. Like the rest of the book, what seems simple & straightforward is actually the result of a lot of work.
A note to longtime blog readers: some of the hacks featured in the book were published on the site years ago, and I had no way to get in touch with the original contributors. Please know how grateful I am for your part in this story.
The Dedication
There’s another group of readers I want to recognize: the 15 people to whom I dedicated the book. I’ve only met one in person but it hardly matters, because these people have been the heart of my community. They’ve kept me company for the last 10 years with their warm voices, thoughtful ideas, and emails checking in when I’d fall off the Internet map, which has happened several times over the years.
To: Caron Arnold, Sara Carlstead Brumfield, Kara Hagen, Tracy Hengst, Adrienne Jones, Jim Jones, Elana Kehoe, Stu Mark, Rob Monroe, Duane Morin, Heather Petit, Jill Pohl, Kendra Reimermann, Marjorie Wheeler and Homa Woodrum: I hope you know what your support and companionship have meant to me.
There are so many more people whose hacks don’t appear in the book but who have still been an important part of the conversation. I wish I could recognize every single one.
Read the rest of the Behind the Book series:
