Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church (35 page)

Taylor and me dressed up as bunnies for Halloween before trick-or-treating with our parents.

Family Christmas photo taken at a portrait studio in 1993.

Opening presents on Christmas Day in Kansas (from left to right: Mom, me, Taylor, and Dad).

Family Christmas portrait at home with our dog, Buddy, 1995.

Taylor and me at an indoor adventure park.

With my mother's side of the family one Christmas (from left to right: Mom, Grandma Stout, my cousins Dena and Brennen, Taylor, my cousin Amber, and me).

At age thirteen at a family Christmas party.

At my Grandma Stout's house (from left to right: Aunt Stacy, Taylor, me, Brennen, and Mom).

Collage I made of pictures of Taylor and me.

Hanging out with our cousins at Disney World (from left to right: Amber, Taylor, Brennen, and me).

At the hospital with my family on the day Boaz Abel was born, August 8, 2002.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge just some of the people who encouraged me, worked with me, or inspired me to tell my story. This has been a whirlwind of a journey for me, from my first days on my own, devastated by the loss of my family and suffering a broken heart, to building up my self-confidence and happiness through my newfound friends and family. These

acknowledgments are not in order of importance, but rather chronological.

In May 2010, when I was first approached by Kelsey Myers, editorial producer of ABC News
20/20
, to appear on a special, "Raised to Hate," I was not so sure I was ready to publicly expose my time in the church. I would like to thank Kelsey for being so supportive and believing that my story was important. He had the foresight to see that sharing my experiences could be an extremely therapeutic and empowering process for me. Thanks to all the people at ABC News who made this possible, including Chris Cuomo, for his sincerity and genuineness in interviewing me, and for exposing the dangers of raising your kids to hate.

Kelsey Myers also put me in touch with Elisabeth Dyssegaard, editor-in-chief of Hyperion, who introduced me to the amazing Lisa Grubka, my literary agent. Lisa understood that writing my story would not be easy for me, and she did an incredible job of bringing me out of my shell and connecting me with people I could work well with, including Jen Schulkind, who helped me with the proposal. Lisa guided me, explained what was coming next, and provided continual emotional support at every step of the crazy publishing process. I would also like to thank everyone at Foundry Literary and Media who supported the book.

Despite my instant confidence in Lisa Grubka, she continued to surprise me and impress me with her belief in my story. She sold my proposal to Emily Griffin at Grand Central Publishing, who was instantly just as enthusiastic.

Emily was extremely professional and had an incredibly sweet nature, which made this process all the more comforting. I would also like to thank Amanda Englander, Liz Connor, Sonya Cheuse, Carolyn Kurek, and everyone else at Grand Central who made the book possible.

As part of her continuous support, Lisa G. found me my coauthor Lisa Pulitzer, to whom I am forever grateful. Lisa P. knew that telling my story was going to be incredibly emotional and at times confusing for me. She did an amazing job of drawing out my experiences and feelings and putting them to paper so eloquently. Working with her didn't feel like work at all, as she has become a trusted friend and like a family member. I would also like to thank Lisa P.'s quirky, fun- loving writing associate, Martha Smith. The two of them, with their Lucy and Ethel-like dynamic, made our work fly by, and turned any sadness I had into happiness. These two made every step of the way enjoyable, as they helped me realize I wasn't an outcast anymore.

All along this incredible journey, I had the love and support of my now-fiancé, David Kagan. From our third date, where I had asked him half-jokingly if he had Googled me yet, until two years later when we became engaged, he has loved me for who I am, never judging me for who I used to be. When he first heard the idea of me writing a book about my past, he said,

"Let's go to New York," without caring that one day people would know everything about the girl he was dating. He encouraged me to open up, despite my hesitation and fear of being judged. He has guided me through moments of shame, fear, and sadness and helped me develop ways to cope, see things differently, and make new friends, all of which have led me to my newfound happiness.