My thanks go to Joel Richardson at Penguin who inherited this book but took it under his wing nevertheless, and applied his thoughtful and insightful editing throughout. My agent, Simon Trewin at WME, for sage advice and clandestine garden centre meet-ups. Jennie Roman for an extremely sensitive copy-edit and Sarah Kennedy for the final polish. Trevor Thrower who advised me on technical aspects relating to car repairs. Mary Jain for her continued support and guidance. To the people who have to remain anonymous because they’ve been forced to break the law in order to treat their conditions: what you’ve suffered is appalling and nothing short of a travesty. Here’s to the change being swift and decisive.
And to Zara, who continues to amaze and inspire.