1It hardly seems possible to thank all of the many people who helped make this book a reality, but these Acknowledgments represent my best attempt to do so.
2First, I am ever grateful to the Gutenberg-e project for their support. I feel exceedingly fortunate to have benefited from the collaboration of the American Historical Association and the Columbia University Press, which together made the Gutenberg-e prize a reality. My sincere thanks go to the impressive staff of the Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia (EPIC). Their dedication and talent helped bring this manuscript to life, and I appreciate all the good work and support of Kate Wittenberg, Sean Costigan, Gordon Dahlquist, Karen Sabino Desiderio, Nathaniel Herz, Matthew Nadelhaft, Sharene Azimi, Merran Swartwood, and the marketing team. Robert Townsend and Elizabeth Fairhead at the AHA also helped ensure the success of the Gutenberg-e books and were a true pleasure to work with. My fellow Gutenberg-e authors were a great resource; I have appreciated their friendship and collegiality, and my work always improved as a result of our conversations.
3This book began as a dissertation, and I am grateful to Beth Reingold and Mary Odem, wonderful co-chairs whose intellectual and professional guidance proved invaluable throughout the process. Julie Mertus was amazingly helpful despite the many miles between us, and I benefited greatly from her insight and expertise. I would also like to thank the Institute for Women's Studies for its very generous support of my work throughout my time at Emory University. And while their financial support was critical, I also feel tremendously lucky to have found there an atmosphere of true collegiality.
4I can't imagine a greater group of colleagues than the friends I found in Women's Studies at Emory. Ginny Bonner and Susan Leisure both provided astute critiques of each draft of the dissertation, and their comments improved it dramatically. I will always be indebted to Jenny Higgins, Paula Jayne, Tiffany Worboy and Donna Troka for the different ways they showed me love and support, all of them providing belly laughs and sanity while also expanding my intellectual horizons. I'm grateful to Maria Bevacqua, Carrie Baker, and Jenny Steadman for their friendship and for paving the way. I am also lucky to have had the benefit of several fantastic mentors in college and graduate school, including Darby Lewes, Barbara McCaskill, and Kim Loudermilk.
5All of the people I interviewed were exceedingly generous with their time and support for this project, and I can't thank them enough for sharing their stories with me. I also owe many thanks to Martha Fineman: as a scholar I greatly admire, her thoughtful review of the manuscript and encouragement of the project meant a great deal to me. In addition, the librarians at the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library and the National Center on Poverty Law were extraordinarily helpful to me as I sought out and sifted through archival materials, and then navigated getting permission to use images and other items from their impressive collections.
6I have been tremendously fortunate to have had the opportunity to join the community of activists and advocates working to end violence against women. I continue to be awed and educated by my colleagues in the movement nationally, internationally, and right here at home, at the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Tapestri, the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence, Men Stopping Violence, the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, and many more. Their work is an ongoing source of inspiration.
7Anyone who has worked with survivors of domestic violence knows that those who have experienced this violence are the experts in the field. I am honored to continually learn from survivors. It is their knowledge and insights that always move this work forward.
8There are many in my personal life who had a hand in this project, too. Providing long-distance love and support were Shannon Skalski, Alexis Radocaj, Maureen Johnson, Peggy Banaszek, and Laurie Sharp—the other sides of the hexagon—as well as Tami Carmichael and Catherine Goodbody. I'm deeply grateful for their friendship over the years and for their continued presence in my life.
9Lindsey Siegel—former student and intern, research assistant extraordinaire, current colleague and friend—was instrumental in making this book happen. Were it not for her heroic efforts, both personally and professionally, who knows what kind of shape this book (or I!) would be in.
10Meredith, John, Patrick, Katie, and Anna Murray have helped to ground me, to inspire me, and to encourage and support me in countless ways. I could not have asked for or dreamed of a better sister than Meredith. Her unflagging love and support have made all the difference in my life.
11Mildred Rowles and Lois Rambo were two of my earliest sheroes. Smart, funny, and strong, they were the very best role models I could ask for. Richard Rowles provided ongoing encouragement for me to get that "doctor book" written, and his spirit is very much a part of this work.
12My parents, Dick and Barbara Rambo, made me believe that this was possible. Their belief in me never wavered, even when mine did. I continue to realize and appreciate in new ways how fortunate I am to have them for parents. They have worked to provide me with opportunities they never had. They've supported me in every way imaginable, almost always with patience and good humor. Long before I undertook this project, they nurtured in me a love of learning, and taught by example the importance of being true to your convictions. I could never adequately express all that they have given to me, or all that they have meant to me. They have always been, and continue to be, my inspiration.
13Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to Jeff Al-Mashat. His presence in my life has made this book possible. He has believed in me, and in this project, enough for both of us. He has worked tirelessly and without complaint so that I could have the time and space to follow this path. The depth of his patience and good humor throughout this process has been nothing short of astonishing. He brings out the best in me, and he has somehow managed to make our life together both a comfort and an adventure. For all of this and so much more, I am eternally grateful to him.