It's always exciting when it finally gets close to publication! The Best Version of Alice is no exception. What is different about this book is that it incorporates several different ideas I've been working on for a few years. 

One of them is the desire to write about all those years I taught school. I loved my years of teaching, and unlike many of my co-workers, I didn't get too caught up in the demands of administration or the "requirements" of all the paperwork that was expected. I don't mean that I didn't do it. I did. But my main job involved making sure that my students got what they needed to be successful in my area, which was language arts. So I completed the paperwork, but I didn't let it distract too much from my real work.

I had also wanted to write about my experiences in coaching students in literary events outside the classroom, particularly in debate. 

In 2018 I learned about a student who had been especially inspirational in another school. At the same time I learned that the school environment he was in demonstrated how a school can be a supportive community to all the students, regardless  of their situations.

All these situations gave me some ideas for The Best Version of Alice.