First, my foundation: the Faulk and Walton families have filled my life with love, laughter, and a rich sense of legacy. Thanks to my mama, Phyllis Faulk Walton, who blesses me daily with her wisdom and grace, and who is among the funniest storytellers I know. Thanks to my daddy, Charles Walton, who taught me not only the beauty of dreams but also how to make them real.
PJ Mark believed in this novel from the first draft and encouraged me, in his gentle way, to be as bold as the Opal I wanted to see in the world. Dawn Davis brought the manuscript home with incisive edits that gave this story more focus and propulsion. I thank them, as well as Marysue Rucci, Chelcee Johns, Ian Bonaparte, Brianna Scharfenberg, Leila Siddiqui, David Litman, Kayley Hoffman, Polly Watson, Cassie Browne, Hellie Ogden, and everyone at Janklow & Nesbit, 37 Ink, Simon & Schuster, and Quercus Books who helped deliver this baby.
My 2015 fellowship at MacDowell gave me the confidence and courage to leap, at nearly forty, into the writing life. Thanks to all the gifted artists I met there, especially Emily Hass and Corinne Manning, for taking a wide-eyed rookie under your wings. I am also grateful to the Tin House Summer Workshop for providing invaluable support toward the completion of this novel; and to my professional mentors, including my friend Bill Shapiro and my former colleagues at Essence, for what they taught me about stepping up and into purpose.
I treasure the two years I spent at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, thanks to the Meta Rosenberg and Whited fellowships. I got so much better as a writer there, under the tutelage of an all-killer-no-filler lineup of women workshop leaders who read and critiqued pieces of this book. Sugi Ganeshananthan challenged me to complicate the narrative, leading to the birth of Sunny. Amber Dermont encouraged me to lean into the story’s wilder aspects. With her No. 2 pencil and ear for rhythm, Margot Livesey sharpened my sentences and the colors of young Nev’s world. And when I struggled with structure and direction, Ayana Mathis, with insights regarding both craft and content, helped me break through to the other side.
I came out of Iowa with an enviable community, a brilliant crew deft with the pen. To Afabwaje Kurian, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, Christina Cooke, Monica West, Jade R. Jones, Regina Porter, William Pei Shih, Melissa Mogollon, Eliana Ramage, Dr. Tameka Cage Conley, Grayson Morley, Magogodi Makhene, Jamel Brinkley, Sarah Mathews, Siyanda Mohutsiwa, and Jianan Qian: I am in awe of your talents and grateful for your friendship, even as we’ve scattered to the winds. Thanks as well to Sam Chang and the staff at Dey House—Connie Brothers, Deb West, and Jan Zenisek—for the support and care you showed us all.
Thanks to the Aiken and Santagati families for opening your arms to me, and to my bonus mom, Sybil Walton, for her love.
From Florida to Oregon, DC to New York, my chosen family has held me up. For their steady friendship and counsel over the years (in most cases more than twenty!), I am especially grateful to Hermione Malone, Abby West, Kenyatta Matthews, Kamilah Forbes, Ronda Thompson, Janice Morris, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Rashida Clendening, Nandi Smythe, Jackie Weatherspoon, Elton Bradman, Rachel Bachman, Sarah Fuchs, and Chana Garcia (who is desperately missed).
Finally, for everything beautiful he brings to my life, I thank my husband, Anthony Santagati—my heart and my home, right down the line.