I doubt anyone undertaking the transition from writer to published author imagines the amount of labour involved in the process. Breathing new life into a novel years after its debut is even more taxing, and for their patience, expertise and advice I appreciate the following:
As always, I thank God, for keeping the mystery, madness and method of me going.
For the love, encouragement and material for my work: endless praise to my parents, Prof. Vuyu Golakai and Ms Inez Dunbar, and my siblings Nessie, the twins Kwame and Kanda, and particularly my sister Fasia for every push. To Mrs Erika Bülck, thank you for your loving presence. To my uncle and aunt, John T. Woods and Catherine Woods, bless you always for providing heart and home to a ragtag bunch of refugees when we lost ours.
For career and personal guidance: many thanks to the Gates Immunology team of Stellenbosch University. Especial gratitude to my work dad Prof. Gerhard Walzl and mentor Dr Gillian Black, for unwavering dedication to my education, in far more than just science. This is probably the only PhD I will ever write.
My boundless gratitude to my new publisher, Cassava Republic Press, for the exciting journey we’ve just begun. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf and Emma Shercliff, I am grateful and awed by the attention to detail put into this new manuscript. Thank you for your keen insight and energy invested in my book. To my ‘old’ publisher Kwela Books, high-five for bringing this collaboration to pass.
For language and translation, thank you to: Jekwu Ozoemene, Jite Efemuaye and Jumoke Verissimo (for Naija lingo and pidginisation), Fiona Snyckers and Roela Hattingh (for Afrikaans) and Helen Moffett, for great editing advice.
And finally, and quite absurdly, this book is (still) in part dedicated to my musical muse and crush, Chris Martin of Coldplay, without whose magnificent genius I would struggle to write a single word. Chris, my feelings haven’t changed 
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