Co-authoring a book presented a unique challenge that neither of us expected. The book is a compilation of stories, personal experiences, and knowledge of two individuals. As such, a conventional writing style would have us write the book in a manner that distinguishes which author is contributing to a specific story or anecdote. It would require us to preface sentences with, “Cal remembers when...” or “Ben worked with an athlete who...” When we were finished with sections of the book and went back to read what we had written, we found the constant quoting hindered the flow of the book and prevented the reader from making connections between examples that came off as separate story lines. To solve this perceived flaw to the book, we came up with a simple solution. We wrote the book from the first person view of a third party narrative. Instead of stating which one of us is involved with a story, we say “I remember” or “I worked with.” In essence, we created an imaginary person who is the culmination of both of our life experiences, knowledge, and stories. We beg the readers indulgence with this style choice and say that it is in no way meant to deceive or misguide the reader as to the source of information, but rather to improve the consistency and readability of the book. We feel that this allows for one clear voice to present the information and will maximize the usefulness of the material to the reader.
