Thanks to my fellow writers, many of whom read multiple drafts, offered unconditional moral support, and helped me write what I never thought I could bear to write: Liz Berman, Melissa Cistaro, Sam Dunn, Hope Edelman, Amy Friedman, Gretchen Henkel Clark, Monica Holloway, Mark Krewatch, Sandy Kobrin, Leslie Lehr, Danny Miller, Julia Kress Harrington, Grace Phillips, Mim Eichler Rivas, Sam Robson, Christine Schwab, Kit Stolz, and Amy Wallen.
To Karen Kasaba and Tori Morell, who read my work on a regular basis and encourage me to push it as far as I can take it.
To teachers and mentors: Karen Bender, Bernard Cooper, Mark Doty, Eloise Klein Healy, Paul Lisicky, Sharman Apt Russell, David Ulin.
To editors David Groff and Nomi Isak Kleinholtz.
To my Antioch community.
To my family for love and support and allowing me to write about them: Allan, Bob, Karen, Alison, Rebecca, Justin, Jacob, Brian, Steve and Margaret and Braz.
To everyone at RHP who has brought this book to life: Kate Gale, Mark Cull, Tobi Harper, Monica Fernandez, Natasha McClellan, Madeleine Nakamura, Caitlin Sacks, Rebeccah Sanhueza, Nicolas Niño, Amanda De Vries, and Tansica Sunkamaneevongse, and Vivian Rowe.
To Ron Spatz, founder and editor of the Alaska Quarterly Review, who published my work early on and has continued to champion it throughout the years.
To the girl who saved me in fifth grade and many times since: Linda Weed.
To Gary, who’s had to relive the past with me too many times during the course of our adulthood together.
Earlier versions of some chapters appeared originally in the following journals and anthologies:
Alaska Quarterly Review, “Fifteen,” “Trains”; Bellingham Review, “School Shoes”; Cimarron Review, “Nature Lessons”; Crazyhorse, “Migraine”; and The Good Men Project, “Robert F. Kennedy and Me.”
“Elephant Girl” was anthologized in Open House: Writers Redefine Home, edited by Mark Doty (Graywolf Press, 2003).