The book is dedicated to his wife Mila, who died the year before its publication.[3] Matthews, then 84, collaborated with Les Scott, his friend of 10 years, in the writing of the book over an 18-month period on an almost daily basis. "Stan, as he had been all his life, was an early riser", wrote Scott in the epilogue. "Our collaborations were over by eleven in the morning and, without fail, took place in his den.