Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep (23 page)

Acknowledgments

This is a book that came about because I hurt myself. Everything that has happened to me since that night suggests that sleepwalking can be one of life’s happy accidents.

I have been extremely fortunate to work with a team of smart, dedicated people, starting with my agent pair of Larry Weissman and his wife, Sascha Alper. Together, they calmly guided me through a process that took us from shaping the proposal over drinks in their living room to talking through the edits of the final manuscript. Along the way, they never wavered in their enthusiasm for the project. While we were walking in Park Slope one night, Larry gave me just the advice that a fretting first-time author needs: “Dave, remember that it’s a marathon.” With that, every writing or research problem seemed manageable.

Jill Bialosky, my editor at Norton, was another godsend. She took the first draft of the manuscript and deftly identified what needed to be expanded, what needed to be fixed, and what needed to be shucked. An accomplished poet and author, Jill is exactly the sort of editor one dreams about when fermenting the crazy notion of moving to New York and writing a book. This book is immeasurably better because of her work. Her assistant, Alison Liss, provided a smart second edit as well, giving me the benefit of two editors for the price of one.

I’m grateful to the rest of the group at Norton who put time into this project. Eleen Cheung developed a beautiful cover. Mary Babcock, as copyeditor, gracefully honed my prose and saved me from many embarrassing errors. Any mistakes that remain are mine alone.

I knocked on many doors while conducting research for this book, and was constantly surprised at how willing people were to answer. The men and women I interviewed were generous with their time, patiently explaining concepts ranging from neuroscience to the history of furniture. If only every reporter was as lucky.

I wouldn’t be in a position to write an acknowledgments section in the first place if it wasn’t for friends and mentors along the way. Matthew Craft, Joyce Macek, Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Jon Bruner, Asher Hawkins, Tim Stelloh, Alan Yang, Dirk Smillie, Jonathan Fahey, Michelle Conlin, and Laurie Burkitt gave advice, contributed ideas, offered reporting assistance, or took the time to listen to me ramble about whatever I was working on at the moment. Mary Ellen Egan, Neil Weinberg, Larry Reibstein, Kevin Shinkle, and Jennifer Merritt went out of their way to make it possible for me to write a book while holding down a full-time job.

I come from a family in which nearly everyone works in education, so I would be committing an unforgivable sin to neglect the teachers who shaped me along the way. Robert Ayres, my high school journalism teacher, was demanding, opinionated and gruff, and I am a better writer and thinker because of him. William Serrin, Brooke Kroeger, Robert Boynton, Craig Wolff, and Michael Norman made the NYU journalism program one of the best investments I have made. And Diego Ribadeneira, my editor at the
New York Times
, taught me how to find a compelling story in the most obscure places. It is because of him that I can proudly say that I have written about unicyclists, dog parks, and people who fall asleep in museums.

Finally, I have to give an enormous round of thank-yous to my family. Anthony and Maryanne Petrizio, Robert and Gina Scott, and Ryan Randall each provided invaluable kindness and encouragement. My parents, Kenneth and Diane Randall, started me on the path to becoming a writer by maintaining a house where a pile of books could be found in every corner. I will always be thankful for their love and support.

And, of course, the biggest thank-you goes to my wife and best friend, Megan, who read every single word that made it into this book countless times (and many, many more words that didn’t). She was a constant source of support and insight who made this project possible. And she accomplished this with a sweet-natured charm, all while sleeping next to someone who routinely kicks her in the middle of the night. That truly is more than anyone could ask for.

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Chapter 2: Light My Fire

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Chapter 6: Sleep on It

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