My partner, my Noah, made me feel this book was possible every time it felt impossible. He is my first reader and one of my two great loves. My other great love is our son, who inspires me every day, who pushes me to be kind and silly above all else.
Eleanor Stanford and Rachel Mennies read the book as I wrote it and helped me see the kind of book it could be. Catie Rosemurgy, Linda Gallant Moore, and Lynne Beckenstein cheered me on every step of the way. I could not have written it without them.
I also have to thank these amazing people: Sandy and Bob Schoenholtz, Rosser Lomax, Natalie Shapero, Sarah Einstein, Stephanie King, Denise Grollmus, Nicky Arscott, Dawn Lonsinger, Tracey Levine, Mariel Capanna, Stephanie Feldman, Nadine Darling, Cecily Wong, Vicki Lame, Cathy Day, and Ayşe Altinok. They supported me in too many different ways to list.
And thank you to my family: Mom (who reads everything I write), Dad, Nick, Vic, Bian, and Kiet. I’m nothing without all of you.
My agent, Sarah Yake, understood instantly how this book could exist outside of me. Her belief and encouragement meant and continues to mean the world to me.
My editor, Cal Morgan, made me admit to myself that this book will be read, and the next draft soared into a version I never could have imagined.
And I never imagined that I could even ask for this type of support and vision for my work. I am eternally grateful to Sarah, Cal, the team at Riverhead Books (including Geoffrey Kloske, Jynne Dilling Martin, Kate Stark, Carla Bruce-Eddings, Michelle Koufopoulos, and Liza Sweeney), and the teams abroad.
Thank you to everyone who brings Naamah to the world.