ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and enthusiasm of the very best people. They are so wonderful, and I am so grateful.

First thanks go to Helen Kelly and Joshua Rosenfield, also known as “Mom and Dad,” for giving me life, love, and the freedom to read any book that I wanted. Thanks also to Noah Rosenfield for his incredible skill at keeping me on gchat when I should have been working. (No, really, thanks.) Thanks to Brad Anderson, who is very smart and handsome, and who could not have done more for this book without actually writing it himself.

I am deeply indebted and so privileged to have worked with Julie Strauss-Gabel, who somehow saw something in the bipolar pile of Awful that was the manuscript’s earliest incarnation, who graciously offered early feedback and guidance, and who has been an invaluable, patient, terror-defusing voice of experience throughout the process of bringing it to print. Thanks to her, and to everyone at Dutton for their work on behalf of Amelia.

Yfat Reiss-Gendel, my agent, has been a wonderful source of support, information, and publishing savvy since our very first meeting. She also knows all the best places and has fantastic shoes.

 

Thank you to Mardie Cohen, who is an incredible cheerleader and the best and rarest sort of friend. To Marie DeFrancesco, English teacher, whose classes I was lucky enough to land in twice and who makes most other English teachers look like passionless dweebs. To Nicky Loomis and Kathryn Williams, inspirational writer-friends whose e-mails saved my life on more than one occasion. And to Erin King, who so kindly gave her time, thought, and critical opinion to the first of my first drafts.

And, finally, the friends who need special mention for lending an ear, raising a glass, and performing various acts of hand-holding over the past few years: Maggie Cure, bestie and fellow Girl Scout reject; Jessica Bloustein, seventh-grade life saver; Rick Marshall, who needs to write his own book; Jen Bandini, whose commitment to her art inspires; and Amy Wilkinson and Emma Chastain, who are so much more than editors. You all deserve champagne.