Acknowledgments

This book would not exist without the shared commitment and trust that made this collaboration possible. We are grateful for the intellectual, professional, and personal relationships that sustained the work of bringing this volume to life.

Shelby would like to acknowledge Dr. Mariaelena Bartesaghi, who served as my doctoral advisor over a decade ago. I credit you with helping cultivate the analytical eye and methodological rigor that set me on my path in health communication. This volume would not be possible without your guidance so many years ago. I am also grateful to the clinicians in my life, whose daily work reminds me of the pragmatic and institutional constraints they navigate. In particular, I thank my colleagues at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill School of Medicine, as well as the medical students I teach. And to my in-house clinician — my husband, Mike — thank you for always being ready to think through the complexities of medical dialogue with me. Together, you have helped me remain attentive to the tension between ideals and lived practice.

Mariaelena would like to acknowledge how this book emerged from decades of dialogue with Shelby on discourses of authority and the challenges of studying clinical interaction. It is also deeply shaped by my own experiential knowing, beginning with time spent in a cancer ward at the age of four following a misdiagnosis, and continuing through other difficult and, at times, overwhelming moments that required the unwavering support of my parents, the wisdom of therapists, and the care of a few extraordinary clinicians. My conversations with Jessica Hughes, Grace Peters, Kate Pantelides, Ariadne Miranda, Pietro Barbetta, Charles Vanover, Klaus Krippendorff, Marguerite Pinard, MD and Hans Evers, MD have been occasions for learning and life changing moments.

Our authors deserve a special thanks. We know that the revision process was long and arduous, but we believe this finished product makes it all worth it. Thank you for the time, energy, and dedication you gave as you entered into dialogue with us and one another.