This book feels especially personal to me. The grief, the soft pants, the socially awkward dog, the pantry. Certainly my mother’s oatmeal cookies. The professional organizer part, not so much. I am not organized, even on the amateur level.
Biggest thanks to my brilliant, kind, and patient editor, Tara Singh Carlson. Remember in She’s All That when Freddie Prinze Jr. turns his attention on Laney Boggs and suddenly she has a better haircut and a happier future? Tara is my Freddie Prinze Jr.
Thank you to my wonderful agent Marly Rusoff, who takes such care with me and whose handwritten notes make me feel like all is right in the world. And thank you to Kathie Bennett at Magic Time Literary for creating opportunities for me to meet so many new readers.
Thank you to my team at G. P. Putnam’s Sons—Aranya Jain, Katie McKee, Nicole Biton, Jazmin Miller, and Molly Pieper. Your enthusiasm for my books and the way you move mountains to make sure people know about them feel like a daily gift. Extra special thanks to the Penguin Random House sales force for the herculean effort they make to get me on the shelves. Thank you to Sally Kim for all of it, but mostly for sharing my books with her mother. That may have been the happiest part of my year.
Thank you to the super-talented cover designer Sanny Chiu for the vibrant way she brings my stories to life. Thank you to Aja Pollock, my eagle-eyed copy editor, Claire Winecoff, my wonderful production editor, and to Ashley Tucker, the interior designer who made this book feel so visually crisp.
I am so grateful to Jane Rosenstadt for talking me through the basics of divorce mediation. Even the simplest divorce is complicated, but I boiled it down to the easiest possible scenario because I didn’t want to stay in that room for too long. Any oversimplification is on me, not her. Thank you to Ann Franciskovich for sharing with me her mother’s appreciation for the champagne day.
Thank you, always, to my writing friends—those I’ve known for years and those I only know online. Thank you for reading my work and for letting me read yours. Thank you for sharing your ideas, frustrations, and collective fear of looking dumb on TikTok, and for always cheering each other on. I feel so lucky to be part of this community.
The book world is a happy world because of the people who care so much about connecting readers with stories. Thank you to the independent booksellers, the librarians, the Instagrammers, the TikTokers, and the book reviewers for all you do to connect readers to the right book. I have had a blast with book clubs—in person and online this year—and I’m starting to think book clubs might be the current hotbed of creativity.
I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to every reader who has embraced my books, showed up at an event, told their sister about it, and emailed me to say a nice thing. Meeting readers is the joyful fuel that keeps me typing. Extra credit and extra thanks if you’re Annissa Armstrong and you show up to five events in a row. With snacks.
To my children, Dain, Tommy, and Quinn, who at this printing will all be adults: thank you for everything you’ve taught me about Right Amount Parenting™. I haven’t always gotten it right, it’s been trial and error, but seeing the wonderful young men you are makes me think that good enough is good enough. I am so incredibly proud of you guys. This is probably a good time to mention that there will be a special consideration in my will just for Tommy, who read this book multiple times from the earliest version and texted copious notes from Singapore. Hope that’s okay.
Tom, I am so happy that you are the person I get to walk around with. You are the best part of my day every day. I have more to say about this, but I need to run out and get a box of cornstarch. I think we’re out?