I am indebted to Faith and Jonathan Ball and Glenda Kaufman Kantor, who all read early versions of this book and provided valuable insight and encouragement.
Thank you to my agent and friend Rob McQuilkin, and to his colleagues at Lippincott, Massie, McQuilkin. Once again, Michael Homler was the steady hand steering this book from manuscript to what you have in your hands. Many thanks to him and to Jeanne-Marie Hudson, Loren Jaggers, and Emily Fry at St. Martin’s.
There are a number of other people who deserve mention for their support, enthusiasm, and friendship: Susanna, Peter, Jackson, and Julia Kahn; Terrence, Lisa, Owen, and Sophie Sweeney; Martin Sweeney and Heidi Kim; Julian, Kate, and Meghan Gross and Jill McInerney; Paul, Riley, Adelaide, and Leo Nyhan and Samantha Neukom; Nick and Maria Aretakis; Carter, Julien, and Charlotte Strickland and Nicole Gueron; Michele Filgate, Liberty Hardy, and everyone at RiverRun Bookstore; and my friends at the Durham Public Library.
And, mostly, thank you to Deborah, Jacob, and Sadie.