Many thanks to my talented Toronto writing group: Elizabeth MacLeod, Dianne Scott, Roswell Spafford, Ania Szado, Elsie Sze and Anne Warrick. In Kingston my friends Dorit Naaman and Sarah Tsiang also gave me valuable feedback.
I am indebted to Professor Lorenzo Buj for his course on memory, which got me interested in the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Thanks to my editor, Sarah Harvey, for helping bring this book into focus.
I am extremely grateful to the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts for their support.
Special thanks to Tawfiq Zayyad’s widow, Naela Zayyad, for granting me permission to quote from her husband’s poem “On the Trunk of an Olive Tree,” originally published in al-A’mal al-Kamila (Complete Works) by Dar al-Aswar Publishers.
Lastly, many thanks to my husband, Rob, for enduring many conversations like this:
Me: So I’m thinking about Mia.
Him: Who?
Me: You know, the main character of my book.
Him: Her again? Still?
Rob, your patience and support is much appreciated.