My deepest gratitude to
My agent, Dorian Karchmar, an inspired reader and a tireless coach, and my editor, Heidi Pitlor, for her creative vision and utter dedication. They are true chong kishi, and a first-time novelist could not have been more privileged.
To my father, Ron Rosenberg, for the words of wisdom that kick-started this book; my mother, Marilyn Crain, for a decade of long-distance phone calls; as well as Teri Rosenberg, Howie Crain, Linda and Jerry Marsh, Dan and Sharyn Rosenberg, Lori and Darren Ruschman, Todd and Barbara Marsh, Steve Hamm, Allison Hamm, Jessica Crain, and Melissa Crain.
Bol’shoe spasibo to Alan and Mimi Drew, Joe and Alycia Campbell, Todd Schleicher, Mayram Tulebaeva, my fellow K1-K3 Peace Corps volunteers, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Lori Glazer, Larry Cooper, and the staff at Houghton Mifflin, as well as the entire Howell crew.
And to my students in Turkey, Arizona, and Kyrgyzstan, for providing me with understanding, inspiration, and hope.
I would also like to acknowledge a debt to Keith Basso’s Wisdom Sits in Places (University of New Mexico Press, 1996) and Ustun Reinart’s article “Of Diapers and Tampons: Women and the Earthquake” (Women’s International Net Newsletter, Issue 95A, October 1999).