ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

When I say “friends are my religion,” I’m not being glib; I wouldn’t be the person or the writer that I am if I didn’t have these incredible people in my life. And I certainly wouldn’t have written this book, which I have needed to write my entire life and which was the hardest, best, scariest, most fun, and most difficult story I have ever told.

Thank you to Stephanie Burgis, Tina Connolly, Christopher East, Ingrid Law, and Sarah Prineas. You folks are amazing and I want to bake you acorn-meat tarts.

For advice, critiques, emotional pep talks, and making me laugh when I most needed it, thank you to Marla Bowie, Rae Carson, Ted Chiang, Deborah Coates, Haddayr Copley-Woods, Deva Fagan, Sally Felt, Charlie Finlay, Christine Fletcher, Miriam Forster, Kelly Garrett, Marcia Glover, Claudia Hoffman, Rachael K. Jones, Samantha Ling, Karen Meisner, Lisa Moore, Ruth Musgrave, Anne Nesbet, Andrew Penn Romine, Carol Penn-Romine, Sara Ryan, Lisa Schroeder, Jen Udden, Greg van Eekhout, Cat Winters, Caroline M. Yoachim, and Trace Yulie.

My editor, Tiffany Liao, is so brilliant and funny and kind that I’m perpetually in awe. She saw into the deepest core of what I was trying to say with this story and helped me find a better way to say it. It’s an incredible gift to feel safe in someone’s hands—especially with a story like this—and I did. I could not be more grateful for the time we spent collaborating on this huge piece of my heart.

I am deeply thankful to Mallory Grigg, Cynthia Lliguichuzhca, Olivia Oleck, Mark Podesta, Jordin Streeter, and the rest of the Henry Holt team for treating this book (and me) with such great care. And what a dream to see art by Jessica Roux alongside my words!

Thanks to Barry and Tricia.

Thanks to Holly and Alyssa at Root Literary.

Lastly, thanks to all the members of my found family, whether I mentioned them here or not. I’m so glad I don’t have to do any of this alone.