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| ix Acknowledgments The writing of this book would not have been possible without the men, women, and children who shared their experiences with the research community. I am particularly indebted to those families who gave of their time and participated in my own research, which is included throughout the book. They served as an inspiration to write a book that would tell their stories . The world needs to know. I gratefully acknowledge former and current Virginia Tech students for their assistance with proofreading, references, and appendix: Tiffaney Parkman , Sara Neeves-Bothelho, Chih-ling Liou, Zoe Cornwell, and Kendra Arsenault. Thank you all. I also thank my editor Jennifer Hammer for her thoughtful comments and suggestions, her sharp wordsmithing, and her encouragement throughout the proposal and book-writing process. Jennifer believed in this project from its inception, and without her this book would not exist. Finally, I thank my husband for his steadfastness and unwavering belief in my ability to do just about anything, including write this book. This page intentionally left blank ...

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