Acknowledgments

As you now know, most of this book was written while my husband and I were between homes, so I first want to thank the friends and family whose hospitality and spare bedrooms got us through the summer and got me, personally, over the deadline hump.

Thank you to:

Lesley, Cody, Violet, Hayley, and [in utero] Knox Duval, who were the first to put us up and who indeed put up with us multiple times before all was said and done;

Ann and Steve Harris—in-laws extraordinaire—who offered their apartment without hesitation, and Michael Harris, who provided moral support and exhaustive knowledge of Upper West Side takeout menus;

David Joffe, Katrinka Hrdy, and Mack Hrdy Joffe, who welcomed us with their trademark open arms and mischievous grins;

Steve, Holly, and Gus Bebout, who should definitely be charging more for the Rocky Point Writer’s Retreat;

Tom and Sandi Knight, my parents, whose support is consistently expressed by leaving me the fuck alone so I can work, and then feeding me delicious shrimp and opening another bottle of wine;

And two sets of Airbnb hosts who were graciously willing to take our money for weeks at a time. We’re batting .500 on that account, but whatever.

Then there are the folks who helped make the life-changing magic happen, twice.

Thanks to my agent, the brilliant, chic, and persuasive Jennifer Joel, who has way too many emails in her inbox but never fails to return mine. Her colleagues at ICM, including Sharon Green, Liz Farrell, and Martha Wydysh, are aces.

And thanks to my editor, Michael Szczerban, whose talent for line editing is rivaled only by his enthusiasm for profane punnery. His colleagues at Little, Brown—including but not limited to Ben Allen, Reagan Arthur, Lisa Cahn, Sabrina Callahan, Nicole Dewey, Nicky Guerreiro, Lauren Harms, Andy LeCount, Lauren Passell, Barbara Perris, Alyssa Persons, Tracy Williams, and Craig Young—are selling the shit out of my books, and I’m lucky to have them.

My team at Quercus in the UK—originally led by the delightful Jane Sturrock, who passed the baton during her maternity leave to the kind and perceptive Natasha Hodgson—have had their shit together since Day One. Special thanks to the hardworking trio of Bethan Ferguson, Charlotte Fry, Elizabeth Masters, and new recruit Laura McKerrell. You’re the best!

Additional thanks to Ben Loehnen and Kate Whicher for the material, Patrick Smith of Audiomedia Production for engineering my audiobook, and Terry and Manu for getting my iPhone back. It pays to have friends in low places.

Finally, I would be nowhere—least of all sitting under a palm tree sipping margaritas—without Judd Harris. He’s the anchor in our relationship relay, and he loves me even when I’m full of shit, which is an excellent quality in a husband.