Who is Louise Eldrich from The Broken Cord and what is their importance?

Louise Erdrich is the woman who marries Michael after he adopts the three children. She is a writer and she and Michael have two additional children of their own. She writes the foreward for the book and describes some aspects of life with Adam that Michael does not focus on, including the frustration of dealing with Adam when he refuses to see reason and consequences. She also talks about the positive sides of Adam and seems to genuinely love the boy.