My heart goes out to all those living with dementia and to the friends and family members who love and support them. During my research I met some truly inspiring people, both patients and carers, and was struck by the strength of their devotion. Here and Now is the story of Marigold’s decline, but above all it is about love, enduring love, the kind of love that survives whatever obstacles are put in its way.
I could not have brought Marigold and Dennis to life without the wisdom and advice of my dear friend Simon Jacobs. It was the time I spent with him that inspired the core message in the book, which is a spiritual one: as the memory fades and the personality retreats, the soul – the true self – is still perfect and whole and eternal. I’m so grateful for our many years of friendship and for the magical things he has taught me.
Dennis is inspired by my friend Jeff Menear, who is an extremely talented carpenter. He’s made many wonderful things for me over the years, converting my wild ideas into masterpieces with the skilful craftsmanship of a truly gifted artist. I can’t thank him enough for his time and for all the details he gave me about the profession which helped me develop my character. I also want to acknowledge his wife Siobhan and his late mother Jean, because the little, seemingly irrelevant things they chipped into the conversation were pearls.
When I saw Sam Sopwith’s beautiful drawings of animals I decided that Daisy had to be an artist like her. Sam’s animals are extraordinary. They gaze out of the paper with a depth of emotion one doesn’t find in photographs. I wanted my heroine to have that talent and sensitivity. So, thank you, Sam, for being my muse and inspiration. It’s only a matter of time before I ask you to draw my dog!
I would also like to thank my Argentine friend, Pablo Jendretzki, who is an architect living in New York. Handsome, charismatic, charming and gifted, he was the perfect man to inspire Taran. Thank you, Pablo.
I am grateful to my parents, Charlie and Patty Palmer-Tomkinson, for giving me the most loving, free and stable childhood, and for being my best friends and wise advisors during my adult years. I thank my aunt Naomi Dawson, James and Sarah Palmer-Tomkinson and their four children, Honor, India, Wilf and Sam, because as I get older I understand more fully the value of family. I thank my late sister, Tara, for teaching me about loss and love. I miss her.
I am deeply grateful to my brilliant agent, Sheila Crowley, and my film agent, Luke Speed, and to all those at Curtis Brown who work on my behalf: Alice Lutyens, Katie McGowan, Callum Mollison, Anna Weguelin, Emily Harris and Sabhbh Curran. A huge thank you to my editor Suzanne Baboneau, who works so diligently and sensitively on my manuscripts, my boss Ian Chapman, and their excellent team at Simon & Schuster: Gill Richardson, Polly Osborn, Rich Vlietstra, Dominic Brendon, Sian Wilson, Rebecca Farrell and Sara-Jade Virtue.
I had many a happy hour working in the peace of Fountains Coffee Shop and the Bel & Dragon in Odiham, listening to Hans Zimmerman’s Pearl Harbour soundtrack and drinking caffé lattes sprinkled with chocolate. I’m so grateful I’m able to write books because they give me such pleasure. However, it would have remained a hobby had it not been for the book-sellers and my readers, I thank you all.
Finally, and most importantly, I thank my husband Sebag and our children Lily and Sasha, for the laughter and the love.