The following is a list of people I need to thank not just for making this book possible, but for helping me through its events and, thus, making my present possible. I consider myself a bit of a loner and sometimes worry I don’t have many friends, but this list is proof I have some of the kindest, most generous and forgiving friends in the world. So, from the bottom of my battered but healing heart, I’d like to thank those who listened to my early, utterly ineloquent confessions: Trev, Dave, Emma, Nat, Frances, Kristin, Emily, Rob, and in particular Jess and Greg. Thank you also to all three of my counsellors, each of whom helped me in different ways; to my writing tutor Megan and those in my classes for patiently suffering through my first cathartic explosions; to the other teachers and editors, who coped with me with remarkable grace; to my best friend Laura for reading all of my rubbish; to the wonderful, supportive members of the Authonomy community, without whom I would not have a publisher; to my editor, Rachel, for her endless patience and my publicist, Jo, for holding my hand; to my husband, whose perfection I cannot put into words; and, finally, to my brilliant family, especially my mum.*
* whose primary concern upon publication is that the world will think she reads only Barbara Taylor Bradford novels – she doesn’t!