What's in a name? Actually, quite a bit. Since they're the first thing we own - and not easy to unload - our names play a huge role in our lives, for better or for worse.

Often a name represents heritage. Sometimes it reflects whimsy or an intent to be clever or unique. Other times it carries special meaning.

Though most people are content with the names they have, some change them for reasons ranging from convenience to self-preservation. Others can only wish they'd had a chance to change their names.

As you might expect, a majority of the 53 authors in this book either really love or really hate their names . . . for good reasons. Some share why for the very first time.

Contributors: Becky Alexander, Mary Alice Archer, Patty Barry, Susan Brehmer, Gene Burgess, Frank Caudle, Verdia Yvonne Conner, Penny Cooke, Yolando Cooksey, Lin Daniels, Jorja Davis, Diana DiMaggio, Rhonda Dragomir, Susan Engebrecht, Barbara Farland, Glenda Ferguson, Desiree Glass, Kelly Godzwa, Jean Matthew Hall, Mary Frances Heitzman, Leah Hinton, Doris Hoover, Penny L. Hunt, Liz Kimmel, Susan Cheeves King, Rita Klundt, Debra Kornfield, Linda L. Kruschke, Billie Joy Langston John Leatherman, Allyson West Lewis, Terry Magness, Jill Allen Maisch, Cristina Moore, Patricia Tiffany Morris, Alice H. Murray, Suzanne Dodge Nichols, Julie Ann Payne, Shelley Pierce, S. E. Pruitt, Mary Lou Redding, Jeanne Roberson, Martha Rogers, Ed Sanabia, Bill Sanner, Kevin Schaner, Xavia Arndt Sheffield , Judson I. Stone , Wilma Vernich, Candice Weathers, Kenneth Avon White, A. DiAnne Wilson, Kellie Zeigler