ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A book like this doesn’t happen in isolation, and we wanna give credit where credit is due, with immense gratitude.

First off, we need to thank our families for sticking with us through this process.

To the Azubuike side of the family, thank you for being a safe space for us to be our true selves. You are a beautiful example of bringing a bit of heaven to earth in the way you celebrate differences and allow those differences to be an opportunity for learning how to love those around us better. We love that we can go from goofy running-with-jokes together to theological conversations to talking things out, all within a matter of minutes, and still all like each other in the end. You all are truly a blessing to us.

To the Brinkman side of the family, thank you all for engaging with us in the way you have. Some people would have walked away when the conversations began to get tough, but you all have done the opposite and leaned in. Through it all, we are family, and that will always be true. Thank you for being constant and wanting the best for us. Your trust through this process as we talked about difficulties from the past allowed us to speak honestly and help others along a journey to unity and healing. We are honored to call you family and have you behind us.

To our friends who sat with us, whether in monthly hangs at local spots or in our home, you helped fill us and our home with love, laughter, and truth. You were some of the first eyes on our book cover, some of the first ears to the stories that fill its pages, and some of the first prayer warriors as we began this journey years ago. Thank you for being in our corner.

To everyone who has invited us to their podcasts, to their conferences, and to their events leading up to this book, thank you for sowing into this book without even knowing it.

To anyone who has engaged with the things we post on social media, especially those who have encouraged us to continue using our voices, thank you for letting the Lord use ya!

We were blessed to work with the best team God could have picked out specially for us. Tyndale, thank you seems small for how grateful we are that you took a chance on a couple of newbie writers answering the call to write their first book together. We know there are many people behind the Tyndale scenes who we may not have met yet and still championed our book. We appreciate the Tyndale Momentum team!

Special thanks to Kara Leonino, the baddest Senior Acquisitions Editor to roam the earth. Thank you for following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to reach out to us in November 2020 during such a wild and painful time in our lives. Your attention to detail and your tenacity to ask strangers brave questions like, “Does writing a book even interest you?” are some of the many things that make you not only great at what you do for a living but also an absolute gem of a human. You win all informative voice messages battles. Ramen and speakeasies in Denver look good on you, and we’re thankful that you’re now stuck with us as friends for life. Not sorry.

Carol Traver, Madam Senior Development Editor, who would probably roll her eyes at our use of Madam but also effortlessly deserves it, thank you for putting up with every moment of ridiculousness from us while being such a blast to work with. It’s not every day that your first editor is cut from the same cloth of humor as you and helps shape your story in such a real and honoring way. We count ourselves blessed to have been worthy to at least once get a glimpse behind the glossy Zoom photo on our early Zoom calls! Heh heh.

Sarah Atkinson, Vice President and Publisher, who wins every note-taking award that may or may not exist, we knew from the first time we sat down with you and Kara over tacos and margs that we were gonna love working with you. Thank you for coming to Denver to hang out with us, for not being scared off by our . . . well, us-ness, and for helping that Denver day back in March 2022 live on through such intentional notes. Your diligence in this huge task helped us shape the bones of our book, and we couldn’t have done this without you.

Stephanie Rische, Senior Editor, thank you for geeking out with us, sitting with us through our next round of edits, and honoring our story with your insightfulness and refinement. The way you painted the walls and decorated our book with us while treating our message as sacred will stick with us. Thank you for advocating for our individual voices and perspectives, at times even to us. The Lord has truly gifted you with loving your authors well through your God-given knack for detail and through your powerful prayers. We don’t take either for granted.

Lindsey Bergsma. Ma’am. Listen, you are beyond talented! Thank you for working with us to allow our art and ourselves to be part of our cover. You handled each and every detail with the kind of care meant for the greats. We’re so honored that we got to team up with you to put forward a book cover and design that we truly love and can hardly get enough of. We are huge fans of you and your work!

To Rachelle Gardner, thank you for being a great advocate for us through this process. Before your influence, we were a bit lost. You helped us understand this process, and we are so grateful to have you as part of this project with us.

To our current and past counselors and therapists, thank you for proving correct the fact that EVERYONE SHOULD GO TO THERAPY. Thank you for helping us process and grow individually and together.

Lastly, and most importantly, we give glory to God. Thank You, Jesus, for refining us and drawing us nearer to You through this entire process. We are so grateful that You have given us an opportunity to let our wounds glorify Your Great Name. Forever and always: not our will, but Yours be done.