First, thanks to my agent, Kirby Kim. He’s not only a tireless, dogged supporter of my work, he’s a good friend. I owe him a lot. He picked me up off the slagheap and helped me get into the game again. The fact that you’re even holding this book now is, in great part, because of his unflagging efforts.
Second, thanks to my editor, Lynn Henry. I could sing Lynn’s praises forever, until she got sick of hearing them—Enough, Craig, for God’s sake!—so I will simply say that Lynn took the rough and untidy elements of the first draft of this book and, with keen sensitivity and a delicate hand, helped turn it into something immeasurably better. She has performed this subtle magic trick many times before, with me and other writers, but I’m especially grateful for her work on this manuscript.
I’d like to thank First Student for hiring me, Don and others for training me, and my fellow drivers for passing the time of day with me.
Big thanks to Kathe Lemon at Avenue magazine, who published the original article, “Precious Cargo,” that led to me writing this, the expanded version.
Thanks to Dr. Chris Young, Dr. Michael Fehlings and Dr. Darcy Fehlings for opening their labs to me. The initial draft of this book included chapters detailing visits to those labs, and the remarkable work these doctors are doing on behalf of children with special needs; although ultimately it was decided that those chapters (however compelling) might take readers out of the on-the-bus narrative, I am deeply grateful to these doctors for taking the time. They and thousands of other physicians around the world are doing wonderful, life-changing work, and they have my highest admiration.
Thank you to my wife Colleen for simply being there—through the rough times, especially. Got to taste the bitter to appreciate the sweet. I’m so fortunate to have you there through it all, baby.
Thanks to our son, Nick, for just being him. That’s all a three-year-old can really be—elementally and essentially himself. You sure do make life interesting, kiddo.
My greatest thanks go to the kids on bus 3077 and their parents. Honest to goodness, I didn’t write this book as much as write it down. Anytime those kids said something hilarious or quizzical or profane or insightful or humane—well, I’d rush to my notebook (not while actively driving!) and jot it down. All the best lines in this book were gifted to me. But with that gift comes a burden, and it’s one that will forever be my concern. The kids in this book are not fictional characters—the type I have trafficked in most of my career. I hope that I approached both the writing and lead-up to the publication of this book in a correct and fair way. I realize what an immense blessing my experience on the bus was, and my dearest wish is to have handled everything with honesty, tenderness, and empathy.
So thank you, finally and most crucially, to Nadja, Vincent, Gavin, Oliver, and Jake.