Writing this book has been a tremendous amount of work, but I have grown a lot through the experience: as a writer, as a technologist, and as a person. This wouldn't have been possible without the help I received along the way. It was truly touching to see that friends, family, and colleagues were so willing to help. I'm very grateful to you all.
To my family: for always being there for me as I once again embarked on this crazy journey.
To my friend and reviewer, Aliki Mavromoustaki: even though I told you this was an offer you could refuse, you once again took on the extra work to review the first drafts, ευχαριστώ.
To Felipe Moreno: for being an extremely supportive manager and my toughest critic. You managed to fit more writing into the margins of each page of the first edition than I would have thought possible. While this led to rewriting large portions of the earlier chapters for the final drafts, I know it made a huge difference in the quality of the final outcome. Obrigada! Thankfully, round two was easier...
To Suphannee Sivakorn: for volunteering to review the drafts of the first edition. I know you thought I wouldn't make it past chapter 5, but you didn't really know me then...ขอบคุณค่ะ (ka ka ka 🕊️) for all the drawings (and occasional poem). They made me smile when I really needed it and kept me sane. Get ready to be a famous artist:
To my colleagues Lucy Hao and Javon Thompson: for reviewing the financial analysis code and chapter 7 despite never having met me before. Lucy, I am very glad I got the chance to meet you when I gave my lightning talk at the Princeton office. You reassured me that the content of this book is relevant and useful to its audience, and it sounded like you got just as much out of the experience of reviewing that chapter as I did.
To my collaborators. Ken Jee: for being open to collaborating on this book in the form of a foreword and help support its success. The Packt team: for working to make this book successful.
Finally, thank you to everyone else that helped along the way whether it was support, kind words, resources, or being a sounding board I truly appreciate it, and it made a difference.