The writing of this book has taken me on a long journey and many people have aided me as I traveled it. I’m sure I will inadvertently leave out some of you without whom this story would never have seen the light of day, for that I apologize sincerely.
My deepest thanks go the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts for existing when it did. I will be forever grateful for the stellar, supportive faculty, especially Wayne Ude, Bruce Holland Rogers, Kathleen Alcala, and Sarah Van Arsdale, my fiction mentors (wasn’t I lucky?), as well as Ana Marie Spagna, Carmen Bernier-Grand and Bonnie Becker, all of whom made this manuscript better. My cohorts and writing buddies who kept the fire going year after year: Frances Wood, Connie Connally, Iris Graville, Stephanie Barbé Hammer, Jackie Haskins, Janet Buttenweiser, Kim Lundstrom, Mattie Wheeler, and Sandy Sarr; my most generous readers, Molly Gloss and Karen Fisher; and my writing partner, Vicki Robin, who watched this thing grow from a seed and nourished it with her support the whole way. Thank you to my cousin, Cheryl Sindell, for writing alongside me and believing in me. Thanks to my friends who have watched me morph from a psychologist into a writer as my hair got grayer, and who never doubted I’d get a book published one day (or if they did they never told me), especially my book group of 30+ years who kept me reading widely and wildly.
The research aid I got from Cristy Lake at the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum was essential, as were the personal histories of the many woodsmen and their families I was privileged to interview and to treat. Thanks to many others for sharing their experiences, including Tom La Bell, Mike and Marsha Bartholomew, Jim Ward, Dan Brisbin, Eric Warren, Bill Denzel, and Randy Peak.
My offspring, Aaron Casson Trenor and Eden Ruth Trenor, have been essential guides on this journey; their reverence for the earth continues to inspire me.
All that said, I could not have written this book without the limitless support of my husband, Mel Trenor, who read every revision and kept on loving me.