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Acknowledgments I can’t remember when I decided to write this book. The plan must have emerged, gradually, over the last decade or so, in between or during trips to the park, the emergency room, the children’s library, the soccer field, and the take-out restaurants. Ideas interspersed in the loads of laundry, the packing of lunches, the Lego projects. Notes jotted down here and there, on bits of paper and napkins, thoughts about single mothers on television and in film. Conversations with other mothers, single and married, interwoven with academic discussions of care of the self and domesticity. In the spring of 2002, I realized that I had inadvertently started writing this book. And I have my son Alex to thank for leading me through the craziness of everyday life. I owe so much to all of the single mothers I talked with along the way: women at the Rebecca Project in Washington, D.C., along the U.S.-Mexican border in Texas, and at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center’s Family Learning Center in Chicago. There were also mothers at home, in State College, Pennsylvania, who inspired and sustained me. Among them, I am most indebted to Julia Kasdorf, a paradigmatic domestic intellectual. For her tireless commitment to reciprocity and community, to an ethics of caring and curiosity, I am forever grateful (not to mention all the homemade meals, gifts picked up at thrift stores, and just-in-time e-mails and phone calls). She also read and scribbled comments and questions on almost every page of the manuscript, even when caught up in her own busy life of mothering and writing. My parents, Ron and Peg Juffer, have supported Alex and me, making the long trip from Iowa to Pennsylvania without complaint and adding much love to our household. My mother transformed many a dull day into a fun time with her wit and laughter and skill at games, and my father did the same with his unfailing left-handed hook shot and belief in the Cubs. ix For research assistance, I am indebted to Jennifer Hergenreder, who not only found dozens of useful legal articles but also read them carefully and asked exactly the right questions (often answering them at the same time). Vilma Shu also displayed considerable initiative and creativity in her research. On the road, I was assisted in my interviewing by Jonathan Jones, a committed activist and organic intellectual at Proyecto Libertad, and by his colleagues Nathan Selzer and Nilda Prado. In Chicago, my friends of almost fifteen years, Margaret and Melinda Power, provided moral, political, and intellectual support as well as a place to stay. Thanks also to the Puerto Rican Cultural Center folks, especially José Lopez and Marísol Morales, for their time and patience. And to my other Chicago ally, Esteban Cruz, thanks for the endless energy and good humor. At Penn State, my colleague Ralph Rodriguez sustained me throughout the march to tenure, illustrating that smart people can also be committed organizers, activists, and friends. Vincent Lankewish has made me laugh at even the most dire of moments. Thanks to Jeff Nealon for his acerbic wit and clear analysis into all sorts of issues. Evan Watkins gave me trenchant feedback on a variety of writing projects. Susan Squier has been a valuable friend and mentor. I also have benefited from conversations about what cultural studies is (still an open question) with Megan Brown, Amy Mendenhall, and other graduate students in my seminars over the past five years. My editor, Eric Zinner, believed in this project from the start. Thanks also at NYU to Emily Park and to freelance copyeditor Alice Calaprice as well as to the anonymous readers for their suggestions. An early version of my argument was published in Cultural Studies 17(2): 2003. Finally, to Grant, amor de mi vida, thank you for coming into our lives, for your passion, and for helping me see where to go next. x | Acknowledgments ...

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