It’s pretty clear to me by now that authors only get through the trauma of writing a book because we are blessed with friends and professional colleagues who tolerate us with great indulgence despite our strange hours and even stranger behavior.
During my initial research on refugee students, The Great Flowing River, a memoir by Bangyuan Qi, was only available in Chinese and German, neither of which I can read. Thank you to Dr. Hui-wen Von Groeling-Che, responsible for the German translation, for answering my questions so generously. Thank you also to my sister-in-law, Alice, whose network of amazing friends put me in touch with Dr. Von Groeling-Che. Big thanks to my friend Dr. Helena Swinkels, who never got annoyed at my questions and even lent me her handbook of infectious tropical diseases.
I’m immensely grateful to some wonderful people who were willing to read the early and ugly versions of the manuscript. To my secret weapon Jennifer Pooley, who has helped on all three of my novels; the beautiful and talented Claire Mulligan; and the incomparable Kate Quinn. Thank you, thank you for your patience and your astute comments, all of which helped shape the book.
There are so many authors whose friendship I treasure. You may not realize it but sometimes your words and support have made the difference between giving up and staying with the job of writing. There are too many to list, but thank you: Caroline Adderson, Matthew Boroson, Kate Hilton, June Hutton, Julia Claiborne Johnson, Shaena Lambert, Evelyn Lau, Mary Novik, Roberta Rich, Jennifer Robson, and Sam Wiebe. And of course, each and every one of the Tall Poppy Writers, for providing moral support, professional advice, and plenty of laughs.
A very big thank-you to the Canada Council for the Arts. I could not have written this novel without your support. It felt very meaningful to receive assistance from an organization dedicated to advancing Canada’s cultural identity while I was writing a novel about a government’s wartime efforts to preserve a country’s culture.
So many thanks and hugs to “my” team at HarperCollins Canada and William Morrow, especially Iris Tupholme and Jennifer Brehl. Thank you yet again for believing in me and in this story. Janice Zawerbny, bless you and your editorial insights, and thank you for not laughing at my struggles with close third-person POV. Also much gratitude to Cory Beatty, Michael Guy-Haddock, Michael Millar, Lauren Morocco, Amelia Wood, Camille Collins, Shelby Peak, Laurie McGee, Elsie Lyons, and Diahann Sturge. To Jill Marr, my agent, and everyone at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency: a third book! Sometimes it’s still hard to believe I’m a published author. Thank you for helping me in this adventure.
Last but never least—thank you, Geoffrey. Your support matters more than any other.