Acknowledgments

Most authors acknowledge that they had help from others and that any errors are their own fault, rather than the fault of their benefactors. That was certainly the case here. I’m not an expert in a single restorative discipline, only in the integrative, big-picture stuff. So it’s very likely I mangled some of the excellent information provided by my expert sources in the worlds of science, engineering, architecture, finance, and economic development.

I couldn’t have made a better choice of publisher for my first book than Berrett-Koehler. My readings on the publishing industry had made me a bit paranoid; the nightmare accounts of projects orphaned by departing editors… arbitrary title, cover, and content changes made without author input… stylistic clashes with copyeditors, etc.

Everyone at Berrett-Koehler has been wonderful to work with: Thank you, Mike Crowley, Pat Anderson, Robin Donovan, Ken Lupoff, Heather Vaughn, Maria Jesus Aguilo, Marina Cook, Jenny Hermann, and Kristen Frantz! For instance, when we couldn’t seem to agree on a cover, production director Rick Wilson invited me to recruit my own artist, at their expense. I was working at the Construction Specifications Institute at the time and had been hugely impressed with the work of our staff artist, Mel Zaldivar. She had never done a book cover before but hit a home run her first time at bat. Thanks, Mel!

Rick Wilson also did me the huge favor of recruiting the team at Shepherd Incorporated, in East Dubuque, Ill., to edit and lay out the book. Larry Goldberg was an absolute sweetheart to work with, and I couldn’t possibly have had a finer copyeditor than Sharon R. Kraus. Any remaining grammatical or stylistic snafus are almost certainly those few instances where I ignored her advice.

I owe managing editor Jeevan Sivasubramaniam primary credit for bringing me to Berrett-Koehler: He immediately saw the proposal’s xiiipotential and forced it on visionary publisher Steve Piersanti—insisting that he read it immediately—as Steve boarded a plane. I also owe Jeevan major thanks for recruiting absolutely first-class manuscript reviewers: Sheila Kelly, Charles Dorris, Mark Stewart, Kathleen Epperson, Barry-Craig Johansen, Jeff Mendelsohn, and Pam Gordon. Pam is the author of Lean and Green, and she gave generously of her time and energy when I was trying finalize the title, subtitle, and tagline. This diverse group of dedicated, conscientious reviewers provided a breadth, depth, and frankness of feedback that quite literally saved me from embarrassing myself on bookshelves around the world (I hope!).

On the home front, my biggest thanks must go to Maria MacKnight, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac., my gorgeous wife, my healer (she’s a doctor of oriental medicine in Arlington, Va., whose web site is wellnessrestoration.com, of course), and my favorite traveling companion of two decades. She put up with four years of waking alone six days a week, as I began the writing portion of my day earlier and earlier, with each new realization of how huge a project I had taken on. For her patience, understanding, and loving support, I’ll be eternally grateful.

I was immensely fortunate that my mother—Alma Cunningham, in Charlottesville, Va.—is a talented writer, and that one of my brothers— Andrew Cunningham, in Falmouth, Mass.—is a full-time freelance copyeditor. My mother, in addition to providing a lifetime of unfailing support, love, and grammatical “advice,” patiently slogged through many clumsy early attempts to make this book readable, which must have pained her British sensibilities greatly.

Andrew always made himself available at the drop of a phone call or email for a wide variety of editorial questions. I must also thank Andrew’s sons, my nephews Christopher and Trevor, for so nicely putting up with my constant intrusions on their father’s attention.

My brother Scott Cunningham—along with his multitalented artist/ paramedic/wife Samantha, and my other nephews, Rowyn and Thane— provided me with two essential ingredients for the completion of this book: relaxation and competition. Spending vacations with Scott and family—whether in Alaska or Belize—has been tremendously restorative for me.

I inflicted the first, God-awful version of this manuscript on a number of people and must thank Marie DeLucia, Joel Hirschhorn, and Roger Courtenay for their valuable critiques. Bill Hudnut, senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute, was especially gracious in his feedback and assistance, going far out of his way to ensure this book’s success.

Greg Balestrero and the wonderful members and staff of CSI provided a supportive environment for six years that allowed this book to emerge and my learning to flourish. Don Ethier was a great help with marketing issues. Without CSI, I might never have conceived a book that included restoration of the built environment, since my previous knowledge and interest had been primarily in the natural environment.

John MacLean of Seattle, Wash.—long-time friend and energy consultant with the World Bank—encouraged me to verbalize and think through this project with him during its earliest, fuzziest stages. Ellen Glew, managing director of the Restoration & Renovation Exhibition and Conference, has helped in a variety of ways over the years, from supplying statistics to putting me in touch with the great folks at Restore Media, LLC—Paul Kitzke, Mike Tucker, and Peter Miller—who helped greatly in launching both the book and my speaking career.

Alemayehu “Alex” Mitiku, Abel, Tensae, and many other crew members at Fresh Fields store, Arlington, Va., provided the caffeine, the friendly ambience, and the patience with my extended presence in their café, where a significant portion of this book was written. Alex is probably the most universally adored employee—of any business—I’ve ever encountered. Thanks also go to the crews of the Starbucks at Harrison, Lee Highway, and at Lyon Village, all in Arlington. I also owe a huge thanks to the world’s best chiropractor, Dr. Waleed Hawa of Riverside Chiropractic in Alexandria, Virgina, for undoing the damage done by that caffeine and by too many hours at the computer.

Paul Hawken’s visionary use of the phrase “restorative economy” in 1992—when restorative development was only just emerging—was way ahead of the curve. I must confess to having missed its significance when I first read The Ecology of Commerce, but I’m sure the concept was planted in my subconscious, waiting to germinate when fertilized with the right data. His repeated use of the word “restorative” over the years—especially at the U.S. Green Building Council conference in Miami in 1997, where we first meet—definitely swayed my writing further towards restoration. I hope you like what sprouted, Paul.