Thank you to my glorious literary agents, Dan Kirschen and Tina Dubois, as well as Tamara and Andrianna and Berni and Laura Gordon and the whole ICM team, for working tirelessly for and with my every whim. I couldn’t be happier to have you all on Team MP. I’m dumb with gratefulness for everyone at Tin House for always making me feel at home, especially Tony Perez, Matthew Dickman, Sabrina Wise, Nanci McCloskey, Jakob Vala, and Lance Cleland.

To my mom and dad, thank you. To my stronger sister Angel Nafis, thank you. To my life partner in crime, Tommy Pico, thank you. To the Noah Baumbach to my Wes Anderson, Vivian Lee, thank you. To The Husbands—Charif Shanahan, Nate Marshall, Danez Smith, Rob Ostrom, Jay Deshpande, Jerriod A. H. Avant, Jeremy Michael Clark, José Guadalupe Olivarez, Jayson P. Smith, Matt Nelson, Willie Fitzgerald, Sasha Fletcher, Sam Ross—thank you. There aren’t enough words. I am grateful in every moment that you love me.

To my dearests, for their genius and laughter and generosity—Clea Litewka, Leah Feuer, Abba Belgrave, Alex Dimitrov, Saeed Jones, Jenna Wortham, Kimberly R. Drew, Eve L. Ewing, Fatimah Ashgar, Sam Sax, Natalie Eilbert, Molly Rose Quinn, DeLana R. A. Dameron, Nicole Sealey, Shira Erlichman, Mahoghany L. Browne, Diamond Sharp, Matt Rohrer, Thomas Parker, Meg and Tiona and Kameelah and the whole Speech/Acts team, Chanelle Aponte Pearson, Ryann Holmes, Shanté Cozier, Issisa Komada-John, Hanif Abdurraquib, Adam Dalva, Lizzie Harris, Julie Buntin, Sean Shearer, Patricia Smith, Natalie Diaz, Jami Attenberg, Karen Russell, Tracy K. Smith, SA Smythe, Camonghne Felix, Matthew Zapruder, Harmony Holiday, Mike Matesich, Nicole Counts, Margo Jefferson—I could go on forever—thank you for keeping me alive in all the endless ways you do.

To all Black people, thank you.