My Mother's Secret by J. L. Witterick Page B

remembered.
    It was my son, Matthew, who actually found the tree, as bushes had grown in front of the plaque, preventing me from seeing it initially.
    Upon seeing their names there in print before me, I was overcome with emotion.
    I had written about this woman and her daughter and I had imagined their lives, but here was evidence that they indeed did exist. I didn’t realize how deeply I would feel until this moment.
    Planting a tree to remember them by feels so right.

Acknowledgments
    I am nothing but truthful when I say that this book would not have been possible without the incredible generosity of time and insight provided to me by some very special friends.
    Brian Goldstein read the initial draft of the story when it was only about ten pages long and provided me with an enthusiastic response that encouraged me to proceed further.
    From there, I ventured to have Richard Self read it, who told me that he could see exactly what was happening through my words and that the story had an inspirational feel to it like the classic
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
. Well, that provided me with quite the lift. His fourteen-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, read it and liked it too, so now I had some confidence about the range and reach of the story.
    I was fortunate to then have Jack Gluckman leave me a voice mail saying that he had just read the book and to give him a call immediately. He said, “Honestly, when you asked me to read your book, I thought, okay, I’ll read a few pages to be polite, but you’re not a writer, so how good could it be? You know, I couldn’t put it down and read it all in one go with tears in my eyes when I finished. Thank you for sharing it with me.” It just doesn’t get much better than that.
    He then asked me if it would be all right to pass it on to friends of his who were from the publishing industry. You guessed it; my answer was “Absolutely.”
    One veteran of the industry said it was too short and was not interested in proceeding further. Howard Wells, however, a twenty-year veteran of the industry who is now retired, said to me, “This is authentic and reads like poetry.” For Howard those words are as good as it gets.
    â€œNot too short?” I asked.
    He said, “Have you read
The Little Prince
?”
    Okay, that’s about as short a book as you can get, and yes, I have read and loved it! It works on so many levels.
    Howard followed up with, “I read more books in a month than most people read in a year, so trust me when I say I like it.”
    Hey, who wants to argue with that?
    The lesson I have learned is that a positive response cannot only motivate but lead to even greater achievement than initially thought possible. I sharpened my iPad and kept going.
    Elayne Freeman, a librarian with a special interest in Holocaust literature for young adults, read the book in fine detail. Being an expert on both the Holocaust and of that time period, she was able to provide me with specific suggestions to make it more credible. I welcomed every word and proceeded to rewrite.
    Next, I dropped off a copy for Arnold Noyek, who is a creative thinker, a leading educator, and an innovator in global health. He is greatly admired for his vision and his peace initiatives in the Middle East. I couldn’t believe his response. He read it that night and called me right away. I could feel his energy bouncing off the walls.
    Now Arnold has more energy than just about anyone I know, but he says things like, “Jen, this is brilliant and I see great possibilities for this book to promote peace and understanding.”
    He also sends me an e-mail: “This manuscript has great adaptability as a curriculum tool for teaching ethics, values, and the ultimate commitment to living a life where human concerns for engaging in tolerance, kindness, and doing the right thing trumps all.”
    Wow, do these words turn me on or what? Arnold makes me want to make the book