The idea for this book was born during a long conversation with my husband on a cross-country road trip from Austin, Texas, to Helena, Montana. It’s impossible to number all we’ve worked through on those long drives, and I am thankful for the time.
As ever, I’m grateful to my parents, John and Debbie Reeves, my aunt Terrie Reeves and my uncle Wil Radding, my grandmother Therese Reeves, and my sister, Anne. Additionally, I’m thankful for the extended family I’ve found in the Comptons and Swensons. Their love and generosity are deeply embedded in this story.
Though they have very few things in common in the final draft of this novel, my late father-in-law, Mike Muszkiewicz, was the original inspiration for Edmund Malinowski. Mike was a behavioral psychologist, and like Ed, he suffered an aneurysm in the prime of his life, and then a stroke during the subsequent surgery. I never knew Mike before that event, and I often envied the people who did, which—I realize now—was an affront to the man he’d become. That man—the only Mike I knew—was the one to show me the heart of this book, the one to teach me about unbreakable bonds and the lengths we go for love. He also taught me about joy. Give that man a full tank of gas, a pack of smokes, a cup of coffee with his son, and a wide-open Montana day, and he was the happiest man alive. He had the most incredible laugh. He made an amazing pot roast with equally amazing mashed potatoes. I miss him greatly, and I am honored to have known him exactly as I did.
I’m indebted to the fathers of behaviorism, specifically John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. Watson’s Behaviorism and Skinner’s About Behaviorism were critical texts in the research of this book. I’m immensely grateful to the Montana Historical Society for their digital archives. MHS made it possible for me to read copies of The Boulder Behaviorist, decades of the institution’s annual reports, and the full description and history of the Boulder River School and Hospital. Though that location becomes fictional in the context of this novel, the historical record proved invaluable to its creation.
My thanks go to my agent, Peter Straus, who remains an unflagging advocate. My editor at Scribner, Daniel Loedel, remained eternally patient with the (seemingly) unending revisions this book required—thank you for sticking with it and me.
I’d like to thank all the incredible friends who continue to support me in this mad pursuit. Special thanks go to Fiona McFarlane, Maggie McCall, Bethany Flint, Melissa Case, Jill Roberts, Loren Graham, Jaclyn and Eric Mann, Kelley and Nate Janes, and Cristina Mauro.
I’m honored to get to work with the incredible students, staff, and faculty of Helena College.
And lastly, as ever, I must thank my family. Margot, you continue to inspire me with your unflinching discipline and staunch loyalty. Those who have earned your love are lucky indeed. Hannah, the breadth of your compassion for others astounds me, and your passion for the things you care about motivates me to follow your lead. Luke—what can I say? This book wouldn’t exist without you, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to write (and rewrite and rewrite) it without your continued love and support. Thank you, for everything.