First and foremost, I thank my mother, Gail Angell, for giving me the most valuable gift a parent can bestow on a child: confidence. Mom, you told me I could be anything I wanted to be, and you were right! You read countless drafts, answered a million questions, and listened to me vent and ponder and hope and dream. Most important, you resuscitated this book and restored my enthusiasm for it time and time again. I sincerely could not have done this without you, Mom! There is so much of you in this book; it’s only fitting that your name (my middle name) is on the cover. I share this success with you!
I also thank my beautiful children, Andrew, Luke, and Amelia, for giving me a reason to be the best person I can be. I followed my dreams because I want you to do the same one day.
I am forever appreciative of my husband, Neil, for respecting my need to create and for putting up with my flair for drama, both on and off the page. Neil, you’ve been living with these characters our entire marriage! You believed in me, listened to me, and cheered me on every step of the way. I love you!
This book would not have made it into readers’ hands without the keen eye of my amazing literary agent, Elisabeth Weed of Weed Literary, who made my New Year’s resolution come true. Elisabeth, through our revision process, I felt like you truly absorbed this story and its characters, which surpassed my expectations. You go above and beyond the call of duty, and I am so happy to be working with you. I also thank Stephanie Sun for doing all the little things that made a big difference.
Another thank-you goes out to my foreign rights agent, Jenny Meyer of the Jenny Meyer Literary Agency, for selling Italian rights to Garzanti Libri in record time. You rock!
I am so grateful for my esteemed editor, Carrie Feron, at William Morrow/HarperCollins. Carrie, thank you for not letting my vivid imagination get the best of this story! You seem to know just when to let me go and when to rein me in, and your insightful suggestions brought this novel to its utmost potential. I also thank the hardworking team at HarperCollins, especially Nicole Fischer, Julia Meltzer, Mumtaz Mustafa, Shelly Perron, Diahann Sturge, and Tessa Woodward.
For believing in me with her perpetual you-can-do-it attitude and for reading an early draft, I thank my sister, Lisa Bauer. For her unique reader insights and constant encouragement, I thank my aunt, Jillian Schneider, who also made the act of writing on that basement typewriter look so cool. Thank you to my father, George Bauer, for bringing New Orleans into my life. For being an enthusiastic first publisher of sorts, I thank Mike Angell. I also thank my in-laws, Rick and Shahnaz Hansen, for proudly telling everyone they know.
For many late nights, literary discussions, and essential inspiration, I thank Heather Temple. Thanks to my forever friends and book club gals, Heather Arnold and Jill Tsuji, for reading this book twice and rooting for my success. For providing truly constructive feedback and heartfelt encouragement, I thank Melissa Citarelli, Lisa Damian Kidder, and Liz Hum.
For reading excerpts of this book and providing much needed camaraderie, I thank the members of the Algonquin Area Writer’s Group and the Barrington Writers Workshop, especially Claire Beck, Toni Diol, Lisa Guidarini, Bev Ottaviano, and Shaku Rajagopal.
For helping me build my freelance writing career and for putting me in contact with some truly renowned authors, I thank my editors at Pioneer Press: Dorothy Andries, Michael Bonesteel, Andrea Brown, Robert Loerzel, Mike Martinez, and Jenny Thomas. A huge thank-you also goes out to Nancy Swanson, editorial assistant extraordinaire, for always being there.
I acknowledge the truly dedicated teachers who honed my writing skills, fostered my passion for literature, or otherwise inspired me: Sue Aavang, Sharon Barger, Tony Casalino, Sam Chell, Michael Craft, Caryl Dierksen, Annette Duncan, Travis DuPriest, Mary Kennelly, Micheline Lessard, Cris Mazza, and Pamela Smiley.
Thank you to the faculty and staff at Carthage College, for gifting me with four fabulous years of education. I am forever indebted.
I owe much to the brilliant women writers who paved the way before me and whose lives and works inspired aspects of this book: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Sara Teasdale, and Virginia Woolf. I also note the books I referenced in understanding these women and reimagining them on the page: Anne Sexton: A Biography by Diane Middlebrook; The Bell Jar, Perennial Classics Edition, HarperCollins, foreword by Frances McCullough and biographical note by Lois Ames; Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Woman and Her Work, edited by Sheryl L. Meyering; The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter Fourth Edition, edited by Nina Baym; The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Sixth Edition, Volume 2, edited by M. H. Abrams; Sara Teasdale: Woman & Poet by William Drake; and Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life by Julia Briggs.
I also thank the following authors I interviewed for inspiring me and genuinely encouraging my writing goals: Elizabeth Berg, Jane Hamilton, Wally Lamb, Elizabeth Strout, and Nancy Woodruff. For sharing his insights on the Hero’s Journey and critiquing my agent query letter, I also thank author Jay Bonansinga.
On the subject of fellow authors, I absolutely must thank Therese Walsh, whose novel The Last Will of Moira Leahy, prompted me to query Elisabeth Weed. Therese, the for writers section of your Web site educated, uplifted, and inspired me countless times while I was writing and revising this book.
For answering questions related to police work, I thank Detective Jay Tapia of the Waukegan Police Department.
I thank Liz Zona for borrowing my suitcase and leaving her luggage tag behind.
And last but never least, I thank my brother, the late Brian Bauer, for teaching me that life is too short not to follow your dreams.