I had published a co-edited book with Oxford a decade ago, my first book actually. Years later I found myself having lunch with Lori Stone, who was an editor at Oxford at that time. We connected at a conference and over the course of lunch she told me about a wonderful new series she had just developed called Understanding Research.

Oral history interviews allow us to document and chronicle people's stories; stories that might otherwise not be included in the historical record.

People must be able to use their voice, tell their stories, have their experiences recognized and their voices heard.

There are many important books on oral history. My book was the launch title in the Understanding Qualitative Research series with Oxford University Press. I think what makes my book and all of the series books unique is the emphasis on writing instruction for researchers who want to use the method being described.

Students are often taught when to use a particular method and how to use it, but not how to effectively write up their research plan and then later their research results.

There are always challenges with books , deciding what to include and what to omit.

I was invited. Oxford University Press is simply as prestigious a press as there is so when they come to your door and invite you to be a part of something like this, you say yes. It truly is an honor to work with them, particularly on a project as large as this one. The story of how they came to me is a good lesson though about the unexpected and creating new opportunities.