When I was young, my grandmother told me stories—fabulous, inventive tales, including a series starring the precocious Mario the Dinosaur, whose mishaps and blunders taught me right from wrong. And as an adult, I listened, with the same awe, at her kitchen table as she recounted tales of herself, her family—my family, too—and all other stories that branched out from our own. To become a tome of family history is a gift. I hope I can tell them all as well as she does. Thank you, Tita. For everything.
Thank you to my incomparable agent, Erin Harris, who handled this novel with such care and understanding. You were the only one who got it, and I’m forever grateful for you taking a chance on me.
Thank you to my editor, Nadxieli Nieto, for your confidence, keen eye, and infinite knowledge. Thank you to Kukuwa, Marlena, Amelia, and every single member of the Flatiron family for guiding this book. For guiding me.
Thank you to Megan, my sister, for keeping me afloat when it seemed I would drown. Thank you to all my family for your love. Thank you to all my teachers over my lifetime, and my professors at Pace University for your mentorship and grace: Iride Lamartina-Lens, Ebele Oseye, Helane Levine-Keating, Eugene Richie, Antonia Garcia-Rodriguez, Susan Berardini, Dan Greenberg, Shannon Haick, Donna Johnson, and Mark Hussey. Your classes and lessons and encouragement are why I’m here today.
Thank you to the many who read this novel in its early and unfinished forms. Alesia, Mimi, Zefyr, Grace. You all are the best. Thank you to my communities at Tin House and CantoMundo—you all opened up the world for me and showed me how beautiful it truly is.
Thank you to the translators of Eunice Odio’s The Fire’s Journey: Keith Ekiss, Sonia Ticas, and Mauricio Espinoza. Truly splendid, necessary work.
And I want to thank those who inspired this novel. The many ancestors who visited me in dreams and when I was awake. The many whose laughter I was lucky enough to behold but who have since passed. You will live on in these characters. I loved you in life, and you will be loved forever on the page.