Writing this book has been a huge lesson to me in being both a leaf on a river, and the river itself. Neither thing probably means what I think it means, but I suspect that it means that sometimes you have to just entirely give up control. By giving up my idea of what this book should be, it became what it was meant to be all along, which turned out to be a surprise, even to me. The best kind of surprise. For that, I have to thank my brilliant and ever-patient editors: Cheryl Klein, who consistently wows me with her gentle rerouting of my crazy tributaries, streams, and great crashing waterfalls of (occasionally terrible) ideas; and her Canadian counterpart, the always amazing Sandy Bogart Johnson.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people are involved in the process of taking a book from concept to fruition, and my gratitude to all the people who are hidden behind office doors, working magic, is boundless. I’d name names, but I don’t know most of them, and I don’t want to miss anyone. So let’s just make it a big, all-round, and whole-hearted THANK YOU to the copy editors, the marketing team, the designers, and everyone.

I’ve been supported over the last decade or so by both the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council. The money may have been for other projects, but any and all grants are a vote of confidence that inspires long after the funds run out and the other projects are complete.

My endlessly patient friends who sometimes don’t see me or hear from me for months at a time, but are still there when I need them; my always-supportive family; my former agent, Marissa Walsh, and my current agent, Jennifer Laughran; and, of course, all the people in my life from whom I mercilessly steal turns of phrase and lovely accents. Thank you.

As always, for Mum and Dad, and for my two amazing kids: I hope I make you all proud.

And to all my exceptionally wonderful readers: THANK YOU. You can always find me at karenrivers.com and let me know what you thought of the book. I’d be so pleased to hear from you.

Kate, it’s your turn to write.