by Beth Kephart
Tremendous gratitude to Amy Rennert and her associate, Robyn Russell, who read this book throughout the three years of its making, who kept me grounded in a week of high panic, and who, with calm and wisdom, fell upon this novel’s title.
Thank you to Mandy Stanley, whose gifts to me, and to the world, are innumerable. Thank you to Amy Riley, who discovered my work, three books ago, and generously, systematically, introduced me to her community of book-loving friends. Thank you to the book bloggers out there who have changed the way I think about the world and whose opinions and daring I treasure.
My thanks to Rahna Reiko Rizzuto and Ivy Goodman, dear friends who read quickly and who bolstered my long journey. My sincere thanks to Alyson Hagy, Elizabeth Hand, Jay Kirk, Katrina Kenison, Anna Lefler, Kate Moses, Jennie Nash, and Karen Rile, who bring crystal light into my life. Thank you to the remarkable Neil Swaab for a cover that is, in a word, perfect. My thanks to Elizabeth Mosier, who reads books through a brilliant lens, who throws parties with a book lover’s grandeur, and who wrote words I will forever cherish.
This book is dedicated to the men in my life—to my artist husband, Bill, and to my son, Jeremy, who asks, nearly every single time he calls, for stories about the stories.
Finally, where would this book be without Egmont USA—that irreplaceable team of enthusiasts, intellects, and believers? Thank you, Elizabeth Law (might I now call you Lawsy?), Doug Pocock, Greg Ferguson, Mary Albi, Rob Guzman, Katie Halata, Alison Weiss, superb copyeditor Hannah Mahoney, and that master of case covers, Nico Medina. The world is a special place, thanks to you.
Table of Contents
Front Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
The Book of Thoughts
Acknowledgments