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Remember when I told you I’d need a timeout so I could write a book? Welp, it’s almost here and I’m so excited to share how we got here!
Believe it or not, it starts where it ends. In early February of 2020, I had a call with an editor about a potential math book. She said, “Jose, but I’m not a math editor.” I said, “Exactly.” I didn’t want to write the typical content-area book. We have plenty of examples of great math books, but few that discuss underlying principles and who we’re doing this work for. In other words, if the math book hit for a person who didn’t see themselves as a math content expert, then I’ve written the book I wanted in the world.
But then two life-altering things happened back-to-back: an acceptance letter to Teachers College, Columbia University to pursue my doctorate and a global pandemic arriving on American shores. In the midst of a personal win, I quickly felt the immense wave of losses. As degrees of separation between me and people who died from COVID passed, I also saw my classes physically slipping away. Some people’s memories, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, may be short, but more of us remember the harrowing images and numbers of people we lost. I became the bearer and receiver of bad news weekly.
And then there was this book.
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