Bedtime was special when my children were very young. We enjoyed reading aloud and telling stories to each other. Such times were special, to be savored and treasured; out of those times came The Davey Family Stories. Each is an extension of our family at the time, and each embodies a modicum of truth--the way it was and the way we wanted it to remain. This wish is still true. As with all fiction, this book is a roman a clef, life remembered but couched as fiction. That doesn't make it any less true; in fact, it may serve to emphasize the truth of being, of existing, of our petty attempts to make a mark on time, an enduring impression which may outlast our lives and memories. At any rate such can I hope.