Many thanks to:
The writers whose stories you find here, for their hard work and for contributing their distinctive voices to the project.
Jennifer Joel at ICM, for making it all happen quickly and elegantly, for being reassuring, tough, wise, insightful, and of course for selling the book to the perfect editor.
Megan Lynch at Riverhead, for her enthusiasm, intelligence, imagination, friendship, and for making all aspects of the process fun.
Also at Riverhead: Lisa Amoroso, Susan Baldaserini, Sarah Bowlin, Matt Boyd, Lisa D’Agostino, JoAnna Kremer, Marie Finamore, Doug Jones, Geoff Kloske, Nellys Li, Laurin Lucaire, Catharine Lynch, Alaina Mauro, Katie McKee, Chris Nelson, Meredith Phebus, Marysarah Quinn, Ashley Regan, Melissa Solis, Bonnie Soodek, and Claire Vaccaro.
The University of Michigan, for providing the perfect combination of time, money, and loneliness.
Katie Sigelman, Julie Grau, Anne Stameshkin, Thisbe Nissen, Kathy Belden, Caroline Fidanza, Ken Wiss, Dolsy Smith, Nancy Ferrari, Joe Adler, Susan and Robert Lescher, and all the agents and publishers who lent their support to this project.
The Lapidus and Lerner families, especially Iris, for being completely engaged in the project from beginning to end, Adam, for phrasing everything so memorably, and Steven.
My family of friends, particularly Penny Boyle, Amelia Corona, and Rachel Dannefer, with whom I learned how to cook.
Jofie, for his ability to recognize a good idea, taking me to the library, listening to me talk about this book for two years (and counting), remaining enthusiastic, providing every sort of help, encouragement, and support, and laughing every time I said to him, “You’re really going in the acknowledgments now.”