西班牙文化之旅

Acknowledgments

確認

Writing this book was among the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. I learned much I didn’t know about my culture, my neighborhood, and my family, and I relearned much that I had forgotten. I owe a great deal to many people. In no particular order:

寫這本書是我一生中最具挑戰性和最有意義的經歷之一。我學到了很多我不瞭解的關於我的文化、我的社區和我的家庭的知識，我重新學到了很多我忘記的東西。我欠很多人很多。排名不分先後：

Tina Bennett, my wonderful agent, believed in the project even before I did. She encouraged me when I needed it, pushed me when I needed it, and guided me through a publication process that initially scared the hell out of me. She has the heart of a hillbilly and the mind of a poet, and I’m honored to call her a friend.

蒂娜·貝內特（Tina Bennett）是我出色的經紀人，甚至在我之前就相信了這個專案。她在我需要的時候鼓勵我，在我需要的時候推動我，並指導我完成最初讓我感到害怕的出版過程。她有鄉巴佬的心和詩人的頭腦，我很榮幸稱她為朋友。

Besides Tina, the person who deserves the most credit for this book’s existence is Amy Chua, my Yale contracts professor, who convinced me that both my life and the conclusions I drew from it were worth putting down on paper. She has the wisdom of a respected academic and the confident delivery of a Tiger Mother, and there were many times that I needed (and benefitted) from both.

除了蒂娜之外，這本書的存在最值得稱讚的人是我的耶魯大學合同教授艾米·蔡（Amy Chua），她說服了我，我的生活和我從中得出的結論都值得寫在紙上。她擁有受人尊敬的學者的智慧和虎媽的自信，很多時候我需要（並從中受益）兩者。

The entire team at Harper deserves tremendous credit. Jonathan Jao, my editor, helped me think critically about what I wanted the book to accomplish and had the patience to help me accomplish it. Sofia Groopman gave the book a fresh eye when it was desperately needed. Joanna, Tina, and Katie guided me through the publicity process with warmth and skill. Tim Duggan took a chance on this project and me when he had little reason to do so. For all of them, and their work on my behalf, I’m very thankful.

Harper的整個團隊都值得稱讚。我的編輯喬納森·饒（Jonathan Jao）説明我批判性地思考了我希望這本書完成什麼，並耐心地説明我完成它。索菲亞·格魯普曼（Sofia Groopman）在迫切需要這本書時給了它新的視角。喬安娜、蒂娜和凱蒂以熱情和技巧指導我完成了宣傳過程。蒂姆·杜根（Tim Duggan）在這個專案上抓住了機會，而我卻沒有理由這樣做。對於他們所有人，以及他們為我所做的工作，我非常感謝。

Many people read various drafts and offered important feedback, from questioning the choice of a word in a particular sentence to doubting the wisdom of deleting an entire chapter. Charles Tyler read a very early draft and forced me to hone in on a few core themes. Kyle Bumgarner and Sam Rudman offered helpful feedback early in the writing process. Kiel Brennan-Marquez, who has had the official and unofficial burden of teaching me writing for many years, read and critiqued multiple drafts. I appreciate all of their efforts.

許多人閱讀了各種草稿並提供了重要的反饋，從質疑特定句子中單詞的選擇到懷疑刪除整章是否明智。查理斯·泰勒（Charles Tyler）讀了一份非常早期的草稿，並迫使我磨練了幾個核心主題。Kyle Bumgarner 和 Sam Rudman 在寫作過程的早期提供了有用的反饋。基爾·布倫南-瑪律克斯（Kiel Brennan-Marquez）多年來一直承擔著教我寫作的官方和非官方責任，他閱讀並批評了多份草稿。我感謝他們的所有努力。

I’m grateful to the many people who opened up about their lives and work, including Jane Rex, Sally Williamson, Jennifer McGuffey, Mindy Farmer, Brian Campbell, Stevie Van Gordon, Sherry Gaston, Katrina Reed, Elizabeth Wilkins, JJ Snidow, and Jim Williamson. They made the book better by exposing me to new ideas and experiences.

我感謝許多敞開心扉談論他們的生活和工作的人，包括簡·雷克斯、莎莉·威廉姆森、詹妮弗·麥格菲、明迪·法默、布萊恩·坎貝爾、史蒂夫·范·戈登、雪麗·加斯頓、卡特里娜·裡德、伊麗莎白·威爾金斯、JJ Snidow 和吉姆·威廉姆森。他們通過讓我接觸到新的想法和經驗，使這本書變得更好。

I’ve been fortunate to have Darrell Stark, Nate Ellis, Bill Zaboski, Craig Baldwin, Jamil Jivani, Ethan (Doug) Fallang, Kyle Walsh, and Aaron Kash in my life, and I consider each of them more brother than friend. I’ve been fortunate, too, to have mentors and friends of incredible ability, each of whom ensured that I had access to opportunities I simply didn’t deserve. They include: Ron Selby, Mike Stratton, Shannon Arledge, Shawn Haney, Brad Nelson, David Frum, Matt Johnson, Judge David Bunning, Reihan Salam, Ajay Royan, Fred Moll, and Peter Thiel. Many of these folks read versions of the manuscript and provided critical feedback.

我很幸運在我的生活中有達雷爾·斯塔克、內特·埃利斯、比爾·扎博斯基、克雷格·鮑德溫、賈米爾·吉瓦尼、伊桑（道格）法朗、凱爾·沃爾什和亞倫·卡什，我認為他們每個人都是兄弟而不是朋友。我也很幸運，擁有能力非凡的導師和朋友，他們每個人都確保我有機會獲得我根本不配得的機會。他們包括：羅恩·塞爾比、邁克·斯特拉頓、香農·阿利奇、肖恩·哈尼、布拉德·尼爾森、大衛·弗魯姆、馬特·詹森、大衛·邦寧法官、雷漢·薩拉姆、阿賈伊·羅揚、弗雷德·莫爾和彼得·蒂爾。這些人中的許多人閱讀了手稿的版本，並提供了批評性的反饋。

I owe an incredible amount to my family, especially those who opened their hearts and shared memories, no matter how difficult or painful. My sister Lindsay Ratliff and Aunt Wee (Lori Meibers) deserve special thanks, both for helping me write this book and for supporting me throughout my life. I’m also grateful to Jim Vance, Dan Meibers, Kevin Ratliff, Mom, Bonnie Rose Meibers, Hannah Meibers, Kameron Ratliff, Meghan Ratliff, Emma Ratliff, Hattie Hounshell Blanton, Don Bowman (my dad), Cheryl Bowman, Cory Bowman, Chelsea Bowman, Lakshmi Chilukuri, Krish Chilukuri, Shreya Chilukuri, Donna Vance, Rachael Vance, Nate Vance, Lilly Hudson Vance, Daisy Hudson Vance, Gail Huber, Allan Huber, Mike Huber, Nick Huber, Denise Blanton, Arch Stacy, Rose Stacy, Rick Stacy, Amber Stacy, Adam Stacy, Taheton Stacy, Betty Sebastian, David Blanton, Gary Blanton, Wanda Blanton, Pet Blanton, Teaberry Blanton, and every crazy hillbilly I’ve ever had the honor to call my kin.

我欠我的家人很多，尤其是那些敞開心扉並分享回憶的人，無論多麼困難或痛苦。我的姐姐琳賽·拉特利夫（Lindsay Ratliff）和黃阿姨（Lori Meibers）值得特別感謝，他們説明我寫了這本書，並在我的一生中支援了我。我也感謝吉姆·萬斯、丹·梅伯斯、凱文·拉特利夫、媽媽、邦妮·羅斯·梅伯斯、漢娜·梅伯斯、卡梅隆·拉特利夫、梅根·拉特利夫、艾瑪·拉特利夫、哈蒂·豪謝爾·布蘭頓、唐·鮑曼（我爸爸）、謝麗爾 鮑曼、科里·鮑曼、切爾西·鮑曼、拉克希米·奇盧庫里、克里什·奇盧庫里、什雷亞·奇盧庫里、唐娜·萬斯、瑞秋·萬斯、內特·萬斯、莉莉·哈德森·萬斯、黛西·哈德森·萬斯、蓋爾·胡貝爾、艾倫·胡貝爾、 邁克·胡伯、尼克·胡伯、鄧尼斯·布蘭頓、阿奇·史黛西、羅斯·史黛西、里克·史黛西、琥珀·史黛西、亞當·史黛西、塔赫頓·史黛西、貝蒂·塞巴斯蒂安、大衛·布蘭頓、加里·布蘭頓、旺達·布蘭頓、寵物·布蘭頓、蒂貝里·布蘭頓，以及我有幸稱呼我為親人的每一個瘋狂的鄉巴佬。

Last, but certainly not least, is my darling wife, Usha, who read every single word of my manuscript literally dozens of times, offered needed feedback (even when I didn’t want it!), supported me when I felt like quitting, and celebrated with me during times of progress. So much of the credit for both this book and the happy life I lead belongs to her. Though it is one of the great regrets of my life that Mamaw and Papaw never met her, it is the source of my greatest joy that I did.

最後，但同樣重要的是，我親愛的妻子烏莎，她把我手稿的每一個字都讀了幾十遍，提供了必要的反饋（即使我不想要它！），在我想放棄的時候支援我，並在進步的時候和我一起慶祝。這本書和我過著的幸福生活，很大程度上都歸功於她。雖然媽媽和爸爸從未見過她是我一生中最大的遺憾之一，但這是我最大的快樂之源。