Writing
these stories in 40 nights was a journey I took
on with passion and commitment since my daughter,
Andrea Grace, gave me a copy of the book, The
Purpose Driven Life. Thank you, Andrea,
for your sweet, endearing heart and grace that
inspired the very core of my being. You will
always be my sunshine.
To my son, Alberto, thank you
for your insightful advice and contributions
to my stories that have made me so proud of
you. I love you and will always be proud of
having taken the most difficult journey of my
lifetime with you. Your presence in this journey
saved our future. You were my child hero. I
hope this experience will forever instill love
in your heart.
I also thank Rick Warren for
writing such a powerful book, The Purpose
Driven Life, which touched my very soul.
Its meaning and life lessons provided me a clear
path and I now know exactly how I want to spend
my remaining time on earth. Completing my stories
in 40 nights was a lesson I learned from your
“groundbreaking meaning of life manifesto.”
Your powerful words awakened my barefooted soul.
To Tony Barcelo, for being
my musical producer for the theme song,
Barefooted Soul and my Filipino song, Pinoy
Boomer. To Roxanne Barcelo, your soulful
voice transformed the lyrics and melody of Barefooted
Soul into beautiful song and music I would
be forever proud of. I imagined billions of
souls that this song and your voice may potentially
reach. To Pinky Amador, I am heartened by your
genuine heart to touch the Overseas Filipino
Workers (OWFs) through your joyful voice. Giving
your extraordinary talent to sing and give life
to my Filipino song, Pinoy Boomer is
totally awesome. Through this song, I envisioned
your vibrant personality and your colorful spirit
touching over 7.5 Million Filipino-Americans
living far away from our native land. Thank
you also to George McClure and Gerry Peters
from Nashville, Tennessee, and Doug Benson from
Maryland for producing several songs contained
under the chapter, We Saw The Best In You!.
It was through this project that the music in
me was first discovered. I will not forget your
talents and help in one of my finest moments.
To Susan Romero-Vidal, for encouraging me to
write and for your untiring support and encouragement.
I thank you for all the knowledge you passed
on to me so that my book-writing journey would
be a joyful and enriching experience. Your enthusiasm
transfused life into my tired hand and mind.
You gifted me with a friendship I will treasure.
To Johnny Pecayo, for a beautiful
write-up in the Manila-U.S. Times and for rekindling,
once again, my long lost love for writing. You
have been a great support and a generous ambassador
of my projects. I am heartened to have your
kindness and confidence. You became my public
relations genius as you touched others to pay
attention to what my book has to bring. You
are a true ambassador of a Filipino’s
ingenuity and creativity.
To Johan Erik Cerrada, my graphics
designer. Your artistic talents are heaven-sent.
You gave so much life into the cover and all
other graphics I have used in this book. You
are an incredibly talented young man. I thank
you for making my book absolutely gorgeous with
a world-class look. With ease, you interpreted
my vision and crude drawings as if I were within
you. The excitement my book first created started
with your book cover and website design! And
for this, I thank you.
To Colleen Wilson, my editor,
who made sure all my English words and grammar
reflect excellent craftsmanship of my second
language. You are another angel that came into
my life. I thank you for being with me in this
journey and for all your kind words. Your small
nuggets in between editing have enhanced my
natural writing. It was a true blessing you
were the only person I picked on the Internet
to help me in this project. Though I have never
even seen your face, your beautiful spirit is
inscribed in my heart.
To Soc Tiongson, another great
editor, who along with Colleen and Johnny provided
editorial assistance. I truly appreciate your
words of encouragement and support. I am heartened
by your friendship.
To Jason Cangialosi, thank you for your thorough
and detailed assistance in researching statistics
and information on social issues highlighted
in this book. Your research and summaries on
issues such as poverty, abused women, immigrations,
and other statistics I used in this book provided
rich social perspectives that challenge our
minds and hearts to look beyond our own life
to help the less fortunate people of this world
To Paul Emerson Marquez, thank
you for your technical assistance in some programming
parts of the barefootedsoul.com website. I appreciate
very much your prompt help that enabled us to
share great news about this book.
To my relatives, Carmen and
Tony Canda, Digo and Evelyn Asuncion, Vincent
and Amy Asuncion, Ligaya Asuncion, Gemma and
David Kerstetter, and the entire Asuncion and
Paterno family for all your prayers and for
your words of encouragement.
To my friends, colleagues and
special supporters, Eleanor Alfonso, Jim Robinson,
Myrna Juat, Abot Mendoza, Farimah Nahid, Mary
Din, Tess Dillon, Larissa Williams, Janet Ernst,
Arsenia Santos, Galo Elequin-Mungcal, Josie
Collins, Ray Vanneman, Jeanne Rockenbaugh, Robbi
Dreifuerst, Connie Pratt, Connie Harris, Marie
Ricasa, Sonny Amores, Jeanne Saddler, Leny Strobel,
Odette Jimenez, Steve Serra, Lita Foster, Patty
Paez, Siiji Abu, Eleanor Brown, Daphne Hurd,
Mildred Baynor, and all others who gave their
words of encouragement and believed in this
book. You all inspired me to do a good job and
to keep writing. You friendships are precious
to my soul.
Most of all, to my dearest love, Jeff Snively,
for always being there to give me moral support
and assistance. I thank you for your patience
during this time of self-reflection and perhaps
even isolation as I crafted this book for the
world to hear the great things you and I have
shared together as best friends and soul mates,
forever, in our own way!
Imelda R. Roberts
|
