How do I thank thee? Let me name some names.
Claude Amadeo took away The Red Badge of Courage and replaced it with The Dead Zone. Carol Tistan showed me that some needles can be good. Bob Beers told me to get up an hour earlier. Suzanne Ruffo and Beth Siegrist gave me the gift of time. Dave Torok answered my questions about Great Adventure. Caroline Hwang guided me to write the perfect query letter.
These fellow NYU MFA workshoppers provided insights and encouragement: Humera Afridi, Elizabeth Chey, Alisha Davlin, Bradford Demarest, Paul Gacioch, Steve Horwitz, Arun John, Alisa Klevens, James H. Lee, Marco Fernando Navarro, Sophie Powell, and Alycia Ripley; Leila Binder, Olivia Birdsall, Shamar Hill, John Kurita, Rebecca Lane, Andrea Luttrell, Cleyvis Natera, Sara Padilla, Leeore Schnairsohn, Chastity Whitaker, and Marlene White.
Renée Zuckerbrot, agent extraordinaire, brought out the best writer in me. Diana Szu, my editor, believed in this first-time novelist. Helen Chin made me consider the importance of commas. Jessica D. White found what couldn’t be found.
Suzan Cole and Susan Jarosiewicz, my ESL teachers, taught me how to read, speak, and write this language. Elaine Flynn and George Ripley introduced me to T. S. Eliot and William Faulkner. Chuck Wachtel reshaped the first half of this novel.
Stewart O’Nan—teacher, mentor, friend—read the first draft of this novel and was kind enough to read the second.
Dawn S. White offered her editorial acumen, deft strokes, and enduring love.