Around two a.m. on October 9, 2017, my husband and I were awakened when our phones began buzzing on the headboard—texts from his brother and my friend. Both were variations of the same message: Are you okay? We looked outside at our Santa Rosa neighborhood to find orange skies and drifting ash. Our family had minutes to evacuate. We grabbed our cats and dog and whatever else seemed important in the moment. For me, a box of photos. For my husband, his basket of laundry. For my daughter, her favorite jeans and her older brother’s football jersey.
We were lucky; though we were temporarily displaced, our home was spared. But others weren’t as fortunate. At least twenty-two people died, and thousands of homes were lost.
It took six years before I felt ready to tell a story loosely inspired by my experience that day. In researching this book, I was fortunate to be able to draw on the experiences of others, including first responders and survivors of some of the state’s worst natural disasters. Where I’ve strayed from fact should be attributed to artistic license. Thank you to everyone who helped me tell this story, including Jeremey Pierce, Thonie Hevron, Danny Hevron, Karen Liebowitz, Katie Kerrer, Josh Codding, and Chad Hermann.
Thank you, too, to the book community—the booksellers and libraries, the readers and reviewers who’ve given their time to these pages. I know what a precious gift those hours are, and I appreciate it more than you know.
Profound gratitude also goes to the generous authors who’ve commiserated, celebrated, advised, or endorsed; there are far too many to list here, but special thanks to Elle Marr, Samantha Downing, Margarita Montimore, Jan M. Flynn, Vanessa Lillie, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, Megan Collins, Anika Scott, Robyn Harding, and Dawn Ius. If I’ve inadvertently left anyone out, I apologize. Feel free to kill me off in your next book.
Thank you to my wonderful agent, Peter Steinberg!!! (Three exclamation points for you.) And thank you to the stellar United Talent Agency team, including Addison Duffy, Yona Levin, and Harry Sherer. I’m also deeply grateful to the dedicated team at Little, Brown and Mulholland: Judy Clain, Bruce Nichols, Craig Young, Terry Adams, Josh Kendall, Karen Landry, Gregg Kulick, Taylor Navis, Tracy Roe, and the #bestteamever super-trio—Anna Brill, Gabrielle Leporati, and Liv Ryan. (There should be capes, or at least really cool T-shirts.) It’s an honor to work with every one of you.
A deeply heartfelt shout-out must go to my editor, Helen O’Hare, a truly brilliant and insightful collaborator and an incredible human being who I suspect has either cloned herself or has evolved to function without sleep. (If she’s a clone, the publishing world is lucky to have more than one of her.) Thank you, Helen, for the countless hours you spent honing this story and for all you do to make me a better writer.
As always, I couldn’t have done any of this without my family. To my parents, thank you for your ceaseless support. Jacob and Maya, you’re my joy and the inspiration for my fiercest, kindest characters. And, finally, Alex—you’re forever my rock. There’s no one I would rather have beside me on this journey.