For Vivian and Darwin, for giving me the honor of being a mother.

For Juniper, who inspired so much of this book with her stories and who pushed me when I thought I couldn’t keep going.

For my parents, for not flipping out when I majored in writing (with a minor in women’s studies to boot).

For all my foremothers and forefathers and those in between, for rioting and fighting and surviving plagues and mourning friends, for coming through pain I can’t even imagine to give me the opportunities and freedoms I have now.

For my brothers and sisters and those in between, for surviving out there every day and being beautiful inside and out in a world that’s still so far from safe.

For the boys and girls and those in between who feel alone and afraid, who feel like there’s no way out, who feel like things can never be better than they are now.

For all those who didn’t make it, who now rest in power and whose names we will never forget.

This book is for all of you.