Like any of my books, this one was assisted and improved along the way by a village of friends, former students, colleagues, and nieces and nephews who generously lent their respective areas of expertise: Bennett Capers, Kaitlyn Flynn, Joanna Grossman, Damon Katz, Michael Koryta, Lucas Miller, Isaac Samuels, Michael Siebecker, David Smith, Jonathan Streeter, Emma Walsh, and Jack Walsh.
I am so fortunate to be surrounded by smart, hardworking publishing professionals: my editor, Jennifer Barth, to whom this book is dedicated (thirteen books and counting!), Amy Baker, Marissa Benedetto, Jonathan Burnham, Heather Drucker, Caitlin Hurst, Doug Jones, Jennifer Murphy, Kate O’Callaghan, Sarah Ried, Mary Sasso, Virginia Stanley, Leah Wasielewski, and Lydia Weaver at HarperCollins; Angus Cargill, Lauren Nicoll, and Sophie Portas at Faber & Faber; Giulia De Biase at Edizioni Piemme; Philip Spitzer, Anne-Lise Spitzer, Lukas Ortiz, and Kim Lombardini at the Spitzer Agency; Jody Hotchkiss and Sean Daily at Hotchkiss & Associates; and Jimmy Iacobelli, who nailed yet another book jacket.
As always, I want to thank you—the reader—for bringing the story to life with your own imagination. A special shout-out to the dedicated “kitchen cabinet” who stay in touch online and in real life.
And, finally, thank you to my incredible world of friends and family, especially my remarkable husband, Sean. I got lucky, babe, when I found you.