For a brief period of time, I harbored pleasant delusions about the kind of writer I’d be, picturing myself as the confident yet mellow sort who’d calmly go through the process without much fuss. Instead, it turns out that I’m a grumpy and angsty writer—not mellow at all, and far from a joy to be around. So, many thanks to everyone who put up with me while I wrote this book. I can’t promise I’ll be any better in the future, but I’ll try.

I would also like to thank the coffee shops and bakeries of Chicago, where I spent many hours typing away, fueled by tea, cookies, and the occasional iced coffee. Bourgeois Pig, The Perfect Cup, La Colombe, The Grind, and Floriole, you guys all really know what you’re doing.

Moving on to my family, who are even better than sugar or caffeine (and I do not say that lightly). My parents are amazingly supportive and kind and just delightful through and through, and my sister is brilliant and wonderful and a huge source of inspiration. Mom, Dad, and Emma: I love the three of you so very, very much. Thank you for reading various drafts of this book, sometimes on ridiculously short notice, and for being such fantastic people I’m so proud to be related to.

Many thanks also to my nonfamilial beta readers and fellow writers, Jennifer Solheim and Stephanie Scott. You read my book when it was still figuring itself out, and you gave me such helpful feedback—I will appreciate that forever. Thanks as well to my other writer friends who provided great moral support throughout the process: Kristin Hamley, Jen Minarik, Rachel Leon, and Claudine Guertin.

I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to my teachers at StoryStudio: Rebecca Makkai, Molly Backes, and Abby Geni. You are all incredible teachers and you each, in your own way, inspired me to keep chugging away at this thing.

Enormous thanks to my agent, Bridget Smith. You are the best. Your taste is impeccable, your notes are excellent, and you write wonderfully soothing responses to panicked emails. I could not ask for a better agent.

To my editor, Wendy Loggia: I am still amazed and terrified by the potential you saw in this book and the trust you placed in me to get it where it needed to be. Thank you so much.

Kevin, you read the first chapter when those few pages were all that existed, and you said you thought it could be—should be—a novel. It was the perfect thing to say. You are, and will always be, my favorite husband, my favorite reader, and my favorite person.