by Jeffrey Lent
His place was with her.
Acknowledgments
For friendship and support in all forms: Henry & Noele Lyman, Dan & Karen Morgan, Sally Hostetler, Jean & Wendy Palthey, Michaela Findeis, Rob & Petra McCarron. For Richard & Susan Walton.
For, among so much else, still riding her bike at eighty-eight, my mother, Patricia Adams Lent.
For stories of being a child in Germany during World War Two, that led me to more stories, Iba Lent.
For the staff at the Elliot Pratt Center Library at Goddard College, where sections of this book were written in peace and solitude.
For the staff at the Gifford Medical Center, particularly Dr. Ken Borie and Dr. Sandy Craig. For stepping into the breach, Diane Walton, Ben Wolfe, Anita Abbot, Liz York, and, again, Jean Palthey.
For all of my Mississippi friends: John Evans, Jamie & Kelly Kornegay, Richard and Lisa Howarth, as well as Cody and Lyn at Square Books; for Ron Shapiro.
For the hole in the world that is the memory of Jim Harrison.
For Anton Mueller and George Gibson and the entire crew at Bloomsbury.
For the setters of my life, thus far: Jill, Rose, Bella, Franny.
And, as this book opened, so it closes, with my loves, Marion, Esther, Clara.
A Note on the Author
Jeffrey Lent’s first novel, In the Fall, was a national bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Notable Book for 2000. His other novels are Lost Nation, A Peculiar Grace, After You’ve Gone, and A Slant of Light. Lent lives with his wife and two daughters in central Vermont.
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First published in the United States of America in January 2017
This electronic edition published in 2017
© Jeffrey Lent, 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-62040-499-7
ePub: 978-1-62040-501-7
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Names: Lent, Jeffrey, author
Title: Before we sleep : a novel / Jeffrey Lent.
Description: New York : Bloomsbury, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016029724 (print) | LCCN 2016036369 (ebook) | ISBN
9781620404997 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781620405017 (e-book)
Classification: LCC PS3562.E4934 B44 2017 (print) | LCC PS3562.E4934 (ebook)
| DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016029724
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