I thank William Klinsky and Hugh Boylan, who love to talk shop with me, and to Aunt Alice, who has spent her life dropping everything to pick up others, including small children and despairing adults. There’s nobody like you.
To the women in my life with strong backbones, work ethic, and indefatigable humor: there has never been a problem we couldn’t solve by walking or swimming it out. I include Nancy Hébert, Amy Goodfriend, Adele Malpass, Michele Lindsay, Cathy Price, Lisa Arnold, Vicky Elanowitz, Roxann Couloucoundis, Susan Dunne, Denise Hurley, Sara Hawes, Brenda Earl, Maryann Marston, Cynthia Remec, Kim White, Jane Pollock, Laurie Mandelbaum, Elizabeth McElroy, Colleen Surlis, Patricia Meehan, Hilary Polk, Shari Gluckman, Jill Lloyd, Monique Dana, Kathy Sherry, Laura Freeman, Katie Shah, Maebh Brennan, Amber Turner, Kim Griffiths, Jennifer Hatch, and Jeanine Oburchay. Elements of you are within these pages. Thank you for allowing me in.
To the more open-minded bosses and coworkers I’ve had who wondered aloud about keeping working mothers on track: Mitch Jennings, Ricky Greenfield, Jolyne Caruso, Ace Greenberg, Jay Mandelbaum, Chris Lenzo, and Larry Kudlow.
I’m so proud to be with Simon & Schuster and thrilled to have the direction of my editor, Trish Todd, who with her sharp pencil and natural storytelling ability always had me feeling encouraged. For the editorial assistance of Kaitlin Olson and the fabulous production assistance of Ciara Robinson—thank you! To my agent, Melanie Jackson, who gave me the thrill of my life when she said, “Send me that manuscript.” I thank you for your time and insight. Thanks to David Vise for encouraging me to make that phone call, and to Sandy Climan for his Hollywood insights. Another shout-out to Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea and the crew at Pacific Standard. Thank you for taking an early chance on me. You’re all fabulous women who can somehow raise a family and move the world at the same time and I loved seeing toys in your office.
To the original Glass Ceiling Clubbers from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Bear Stearns: Your names are tucked away here and your secrets are safe, but your stories helped this book take flight.
To Rich Hogan, whose knowledge of derivative financial devices and work-life balance is astounding: I thank you for the tutorials on both.
I’m grateful for the help of Aripcy and Kevin Salazar, whose support made work possible. I thank Nicole Milazzo for being upbeat and beyond helpful about this project. Your insights as a decades-younger woman were invaluable and you always make me laugh.
For patient reading and suggestions I thank Matthew Klam and the Southampton Writers Conference. I’m also grateful to my earliest readers, including Carron Sherry, Lily Hogan, Kiera Klinsky, and especially Elizabeth Dennis, who thinks this is the story of her life, which it is not.