Will's Red Coat
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Additional gratitude goes to Christina and Mike Morse, Mary O’Hara, Wendy Anthony, Marybeth Cauffman, Donna Jean and J. C. Cassetta, Scott Ferrari and David Hallett, Ken and Ann Stampfer, Steve Smith, Ed Ryan, Claire Bigelow, Nancy Ryan, Peter Jason Riley, David Hall and Lisa Dorval, Romeo Dorval, Laini Shilitto, Jaime Jean Rogers, Megan Witt, Deb Brown, and Mark Hawthorne, for their kindness and their support of my goals and my writing.
Laura Cummings and her staff at White Birch Books see to it that personalized autographed and pawtographed copies of Following Atticus and Will’s Red Coat are shipped all around the country and the world. Every author should be blessed with this kind of supportive indie bookstore to stand by them.
Rachael Kleidon is our veterinarian, and the most luminous soul I know. She was always there for Will and made concessions that allowed me to see him through to his final mountaintop in the way I envisioned. I wish that all of us could have a doctor this empathetic.
Although Will didn’t come from the Conway Area Humane Society, I have a strong relationship with the staff and volunteers. However, no one is more special than the director, Virginia Moore. There are politics and personalities in every field, including animal rescue. Virginia restored my faith in the field with her selfless example.
Will’s story would not be complete without the creative touch of Will’s florist, Carrie Scribner, and her team at Dutch Bloemen Winkel, who always looked after Will’s flowers: Orly White, Sheila Kackley, Tracy Vokey, Meg Hoffer, and Lizzy Duffy. Carrie is an artist at creating arrangements and made more than four hundred for my little friend. She is even better as a friend.
My late aunt, Marijane Ryan, played a significant role in my relationship with Will. Her love and experience in hospice were guiding lights for me to follow. She was a perfect example of how to walk in beauty, and what we shared will be with me for as long as I walk this earth. Annie Criscitiello offered moral support, witty correspondence, and laughter along the way. Sarah George is my favorite pen pal, and the sweetest witch I know. Lastly, there is Martha House, the “word thief” who brought my writing back to life while I was still recovering mine.
Photos Section
Tom Ryan
Angry and defiant, William arrives in Jackson, New Hampshire, ready to do battle.
Tom Ryan
Atticus doing Atticus things as he surveys Pinkham Notch from Pine Mountain.
Cindy Netska
An impossibility becomes a reality when Will reaches a mountaintop.
Tom Ryan
Will looking upon legendary Mount Chocorua, wrapped in his red coat to keep the winter chill at bay.
Tom Ryan
A changed Will, free of his harness, cavorting in the backyard during his second summer in Jackson.
Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan
Cindy Netska
Will learns that on the other side of surrender lies trust.
Tom Ryan
Atticus comforts Will during a seizure.
Tom Ryan
A winter moment on the beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Tom Ryan
Dr. Rachael Kleidon consults with Atticus.
Tom Ryan
Aragorn, here barely fifteen feet away, spending time in the backyard with us, watching the comings and goings of butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Tom Ryan
Rachael with our thank you gifts to the staff at North Country Animal Hospital.
Tom Ryan
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” —Claude Monet.
Tom Ryan
The Will Wagon.
Tom Ryan
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” —L.M. Montgomery
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Ken Stampfer
Will and Ann Stampfer sharing some wisdom . . . or maybe comparing their hairstyles.
Tom Ryan
During the warmer months Will often soaked in the lyric water running down from the mountains on its way to the ocean.
Tom Ryan
The loveliest of goodbyes.
Tom Ryan
Will doing Atticus things, sitting in Iron Mountain meadow in front of Agiocochook and several of the higher peaks of his enchanted forest.
About the Author
TOM RYAN is the author of the New York Times bestseller Following Atticus, about a life-changing quest to climb the highest peaks in New Hampshire during winter. After raising thousands of dollars for Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, Tom and Atticus were inducted into the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) Hall of Fame as co-recipients of the “Human Hero of the Year Award.” Tom and Atticus also received the “Humane-itarian Award” from the Massachusetts School of Law. Tom writes the popular blog The Adventures of Tom and Atticus. He lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
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Also by Tom Ryan
Following Atticus
Credits
Cover design by Jeanne Reina
Front cover photograph by Tom Ryan
Back cover photograph by Cindy Netska
Copyright
WILL’S RED COAT. Copyright © 2017 by Thomas F. Ryan. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Print ISBN 978-0-06-244498-1
EPub Edition April 2017 ISBN 9780062445001
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