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Writing a book is like running a marathon. You write, revise, revise some more, and wonder if you’ll ever get to the finish line. It took me seven years to make this novel come close to matching the vision I had for it in the beginning. Many people helped along the way.
The most important person was my husband, Daniel Booth. Daniel encouraged me to write when it wasn’t at all clear I could do it. He read draft after draft and listened to me rattle on about the book pretty much every day, including when we first woke up in the morning. And he never once complained. Talk about going above and beyond the wedding vows!
Judy Wise, my friend and writing partner, also read numerous drafts and gave me a pile of sweet-natured edits. We spent many afternoons eating chocolate and talking about the book’s character arcs, plot holes, and themes. She wrote “Applause! Applause!” on every draft. Thank you for everything.
Because I was determined to write this book but didn’t really know how to go about telling the story, I enrolled in Stanford’s two-year certificate program in novel writing. It was a great experience. I have so many people to thank, among them teachers Wendy Nelson Tokunaga and Malena Watrous, and fellow students Joanne Godley, Katherine Kleespies Christenson, Melanie Denman, Susan Shott Karr, Molly Goodman, Anne Walsh Kelly, and Douglass Seaver. I am grateful to you and to all the others in my classes who read and commented on chapters of this book, over and over. Thank you for your help and support. You are all amazing writers.
Many friends and family were kind enough to read drafts over the years. Thank you, Roy Benjamin, Alea Blum, Domenica Blum, Nancy Butts, Marty Dick, Kathy Dolan, Linda Goerner, Annie Kauffman, Kim Kluger-Bell, Jenn Perez, and Jim Zander. You were wonderful. If I forgot anyone, please forgive me. It’s been a long haul, and sometimes important memories get lost in the mist of time.
Last but definitely not least, thanks to the fantastic people at Red Adept Publishing who had faith in this book and worked with me to make it its best self: Lynn McNamee, Jessica Anderegg, Sarah Carleton—and Traci Borum, mentor extraordinaire.
Finally, thanks to Bobbi Gibb and Kathrine Switzer, who were my inspirations.