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The Edge of Anything

Page 25

by Nora Shalaway Carpenter


  Symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, like those of many other mental health conditions, can vary greatly by individual. If you suspect that you or someone you love has OCD and/or depression, it is crucial to talk about it, tell your doctor, and seek help. You are not alone, and life can get brighter.

  The following organizations and websites have fantastic information and treatment locating services:

  International OCD Foundation. https://iocdf.org/ and https://kids.iocdf.org/for-kids/how-do-i-get-help/

  The Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator. https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/ or call the Treatment Referral Helpline of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

  The National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/

  Anxiety and Depression Association of America. https://adaa.org/

  Beyond OCD. http://beyondocd.org/

  I also have these resources located on my website, noracarpenterwrites.com.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I am indebted to so many wonderful people. To my incredible agent, Victoria Wells Arms: thank you for loving my words and championing me in every way. You always have wonderful suggestions for making my stories stronger, and I’m so grateful. Also, the pep talks. ☺ I am so glad the universe (and Sandra Nickel! You’re the best, Sandra!) brought us together.

  To the entire Running Press team, especially my wonderful editor, Julie Matysik: thank you for falling in love with Sage and Len, and for believing in me. Your insights helped me shape this book into exactly what I wanted it to be. Huge shout out to Val Howlett, too, for introducing me to Running Press and working so hard to get my books in front of readers. Thanks also to Fabio Consoli for your brilliant cover art, to Frances J. Soo Ping Chow for the design that ties everything together, and to Jennifer Hartmann for tidying up all my small changes.

  To my VCFA family—from advisors and workshop leaders to students and fellow alumnx (shout out to my Secret Gardener classmates!): thank you for the innumerable ways you have supported me since I first stepped onto that magical campus. It blows my mind how many selfless, caring, and absurdly talented people make up the MFA WCYA program. A special thank-you to my semester advisors: Coe Booth, Tim Wynn-Jones, Shelley Tanaka, and Uma Krishnaswami. Thanks also to Amanda Jenkins for that take-out cafeteria dinner during which you asked the questions that led me to the heart of this story, let me cry about how painful it was to write, and then assured me it was important.

  Thanks a ton to the brilliant Anna Drury Secino and Tirzah Price for being this book’s first readers and offering insight, support, and laughter at every step. Our text chains keep me sane throughout the writing process, and I am eternally grateful. Thanks also to writing partners (current and those who’ve moved away) Miriam McNamara, Rachel Hylton, Meg Cook, and Kelly Anne Blount.

  I could not have written this book if I didn’t have amazing help with my littles. Huge thanks to our beloved friends Anna White, Katie Flow, Annie Bullock, Charlotte Bailes Garcia, and my momma for keeping my babies safe and loved while I teased out Sage and Len’s story. To my children, thank you for the unabashed joy you have at even the tiniest bit of good writing-related news. (“Mom, you got a free parking spot at your conference? That is INCREDIBLE!”) You make every part of my life incredible, and I’m so proud of each of you. I’m sorry I screamed when I learned about my book deal and accidentally made all of you cry.

  To Dr. Brad Friedman, you are welcome for making your dreams of being in a book come true. I expect this novel to have a permanent display in your office. ☺ Seriously, though, huge thanks to you and your wonderful staff for allowing me to badger you with questions about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, for putting me through Sage’s tests, and for all the incredible work you do for your patients every day.

  Thanks to my filmmaker and photographer sister, Emma Shalaway, for encouraging me throughout this journey and making sure I didn’t botch my photography terminology. To Chip Bryan, thank you so much for my author photos. Thanks also to Jason Watkins for answering all my EMT-related questions and to Chad Pauley for schooling me on North Carolina high school counselor guidelines. Any errors are mine alone.

  To my parents, Linda and Scott Shalaway, thank you for surrounding me with books, encouraging my writing from the very beginning, and giving me the tenacity and stubbornness without which I don’t think many writers can survive. To all of you aspiring authors out there, keep telling your stories. Keep reading. And keep persisting. The world needs your voices.

  As this book is about deep, life-changing friendship, I would be remiss not to thank the three women whose friendships first taught me that kind of bond existed. To Joanna Mulligan, Monique Buckley, and Sarah Dean, thank you for being the best kind of people and the best kind of friends.

  Finally, to my very best friend and soul partner in everything, Josh Carpenter: thank you for being my biggest champion, for never doubting even when I doubted myself, and for the incredible love and example you provide our children every day.

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