And now, in this room, with Jasir’s tirade mellowing, Deesh took heart in how the two wounded brothers could then forge a certain power: how as long as they kept pushing their pace over that sunbaked asphalt, their time together on earth would become more of a life in which only they, these lovers of this game with all of its well-felt dangers, could orchestrate so many unforeseen moves to create the next unstoppable drive.
Acknowledgments
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Salman Rushdie and Heidi Pitlor for including the opening of Deesh’s story in Best American Short Stories 2008, and to the editors and staffs of Antioch Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Idaho Review for publishing material elsewhere in this book, and to Bill Henderson for mentioning excerpts in Pushcart Prize anthologies, and to Noah Ballard, my agent, for his valor, particularly early on, and his dogged belief, always, and to Liz Stein, my editor at Putnam (and, as far as I’m concerned, the best anywhere), for her stellar talent and kindness and tirelessness. Special thanks to Mitch Wieland and all who nominated excerpts for Pushcart Prizes, and to the Isherwood Foundation for the generous and timely fellowship, and to Ben Fountain, Tim Johnston, Ru Freeman, Christine Sneed, Anne Serling, and Jonathan Lethem, all of whose camaraderie and expertise inspired me to persist when circumstances grew difficult.
Endless gratitude as well to Rebecca Makkai, Dan Chaon, Alethea Black, Lou Berney, Mark Ebner, Sandy Novack, Clarence Major, Jay Neugeboren, Pam Houston, John Edgar Wideman, Lee Martin, John Dufresne, Wendy Barker, Lynn Petrillo, Jack Smith, Kenneth C. Pellow, Bret Lott, Michael Griffith, Andy Mozina, Lisa Maulhardt, Georgette Dini, Jennifer Daddio, Joe Duraes, Elizabeth McKenzie, Daniel Woodrell, Jennifer Fields-Summer, Pete Peterson, Georges Lederman, Bob Conflitti, jacket designer Eric Fuentecilla, book designer Stephanie Huntwork, and Elizabeth Tallent, and to all of the residents of the town of Lake Peekskill, New York, and to my parents, Ted and Rita, and my siblings, John and Mary and my older brother, the late Dr. Thaddeus Wisniewski, who blazed just about every trail, then overcame immeasurable distance to make miracles involving me visible and commonplace.
Eager thanks to Captain Sean Jones of the New York City Department of Correction for assuring I knew what life’s like behind bars on Rikers Island, and to Belmont Park thoroughbred owner Juan Fernandez and trainer Juan Ortiz for letting me hot-walk and feed those powerful, gentle animals, and to Dr. Patrick Thomas as well as Dr. Lars Svensson of the Cleveland Clinic for their enthusiasm and patience in teaching me all about aortic valves and thoracic surgeries, and for their skill in opening me up, repairing my heart, and keeping it beating.
And to my one and only wife, Elizabeth: Thanks for every bit of you, and the v.b. love to you—always.
About the Author
Mark Wisniewski’s widely acclaimed first novel, Confessions of a Polish Used Car Salesman, was likened to Huckleberry Finn by the Los Angeles Times. His work has appeared in Best American Short Stories, The Sun, The Virginia Quarterly Review, New England Review, TriQuarterly, The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, and The Iowa Review. The winner of a Pushcart Prize, a Tobias Wolff Award, and an Isherwood Fellowship in Fiction, he has taught writing nationwide and, as a book doctor and freelance editor, helped dozens if not hundreds of writers achieve publication. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Elizabeth, and a gray Persian cat named Vern.
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