I have been a teacher for so long, I had almost forgotten what it was like to be a new student. The process of getting a novel published, with its excitement and challenges, put me right at the beginning of the learning curve. Without the help and support of some wonderful people, I could not have managed this journey.
My agent, Joy Harris, has been a truly phenomenal teacher. Her patience, her intuitive understanding of me and my work, her cheerleading, and her warp-speed replies to my endless questions have reminded me that really good teachers are great coaches.
A huge thanks to Jennifer Weis and her team at St. Martin’s Press for helping to shape and edit the novel. Jennifer’s clarity about how and what to change was remarkable.
To Caroline Upcher, for reading through rambling drafts and always pointing me in the right direction. Also thanks to Bonnie Hearn-Hill, an extraordinary instructor, for teaching me the foundations and the essence of a scene.
I am truly blessed to have supportive friends, who were willing to read and reread, and give honest feedback in a way that didn’t make me feel as if I should use the pages as kindling. Thank you, Randy, for the hours and hours of phone calls. Thank you, Caryn, Anne, Barbara, and Amanda, for always being there. To my sister, Anne Lutz, a psychiatrist, thank you for answering many of the specific and technical questions. And to all the people who generously shared their stories of struggles with addiction, you are courageous.
To my husband, whose critical eye helped keep this real.
And lastly, to my adventurous and eccentric daughters, who jump into life with both feet, you motivate me.