An American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir (30 page)

I am still the first wife. As he said, he does not believe in divorce. We remain connected in our own unspoken ways.

Acknowledgments and Dedication

I
thank Karen Wolny, my editor at Palgrave, who has been impressively enthusiastic, editorially deft, and tremendously responsive. I am privileged to have found such an editor. The entire Palgrave team has been an incredible asset to this book: Christine Catarino, Donna Cherry, Lauren Dwyer, Polly Kummel, Lauren LoPinto, and David Rotstein. I also wish to acknowledge Mark Lerner and his wise counsel.

I believe I was guided to my literary agent “from above”—Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich, has been fiercely devoted to bringing this, and many of my other books, to life. I am grateful for her invaluable support and guidance. I thank Miriam Goderich, who believed in this book immediately and passionately. I have likewise benefited enormously from the encouragement and expertise of my publicity team at Goldberg-McDuffie: Lynn Goldberg, Angela Baggetta, Jeff Umbro, and Kathleen C. Zrelack.

My research assistant, Adriann Agle, first came to me as an intern from Barnard. Her work was spectacular, I inevitably hired her; without her intellectual skills, “can-do” disposition, discipline, devotion, and maturity, this book could not have been written. I owe her a great debt of gratitude.

I am deeply indebted to those who funded my work both for this book and my work on honor-related violence, including honor killings: Susan L. Bender, Esq., Abigail L. Rosenthal, Bruce Stevens, Cornelia Foster
Wood, the Middle East Forum Education Fund, and those funders who prefer to remain anonymous. I thank “JB” for her political friendship.

Many travelers and authors, some long dead, others very much alive, have helped me gain precious knowledge about Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the Islamic world. They are credited in the bibliography. Those who have become friends, whose words, views, and life stories have become intertwined with mine, are especially dear to me. They know who they are.

I also thank the Columbia Universities Libraries for their excellent collections; Rosanne Klass for her generosity and her knowledge of and love for Afghanistan; and Roy Abraham and Sara Y. Aharon for introducing me to the history of the Jews and Hindus of Afghanistan.

I must acknowledge my internist, Dr. Tina Dobsevage, for her tender, professional care; when necessary, she even makes house calls. On that same note, I would like to thank all my physicians, surgeons, dentists, and alternative health care practitioners, especially Cherlyn Smith, who have taken me out of agony and kept my mortal frame in good-enough working order.

I am grateful to those friends and colleagues who were “there for me” in good times and when the going got rough, especially Joan Casamo, Linda Clarke, Rivka Haut, Merle Hoffman, Barbara Joans, Meryle Kates, William Myers, Daniel Pipes, Jennifer Roskies, Na’ama Sandrow, Fern Sidman, and Ibn Warraq.

I am moored to earth by my immediate, extended, and intergenerational family: Susan, my son Ariel, my daughter-in-law Shannon, my son’s in-laws, Pearl and Harvey, and our two precious, darling granddaughters, Lily Diana and Kate Leah. And that’s Diana for Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman and Leah for Princess Leia of
Star Wars.
I wish to thank my parents of blessed memory, Lillian and Leon, for having given me life and for having stood by me. I thank my long-time housekeeper and friend, Joanna Wilczynska, who surrounds me with beauty and coffee and keeps me going.

I humbly acknowledge both the suffering and the strength of the people of Afghanistan and my extended Afghan-Turkish family, especially my Afghan husband, whose friendship I value deeply. I hope my attempt to recreate a place and a time long gone will meet with their love and approval.

This book is dedicated to K., my sister, my friend. She was a very good person. May God bless her and have mercy upon her soul.

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