Loner

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the following:

my two editors — Millicent Bennett, to whom I am profoundly indebted for her meticulous attention and unflagging stamina, and Ira Silverberg, as adroit a shepherd and champion as I could ask for; their respective assistants, Julianna Haubner and Kaitlin Olson; my superb publicist, Erin Reback; my copy editor, David Chesanow; and Jon Karp, Marysue Rucci, and everyone else at Simon & Schuster;

my agent, Jim Rutman, a paragon of professionalism and decency;

my selfless and perspicacious readers — Chelsea Bieker, Clara Boyd, Sarah Bruni, Amber Dermont, Maura Kelly, Aryn Kyle, Diana Spechler, and John Warner;

my research resources — Andrew Epstein in clinical psychology, Josh Gradinger in the law, and Julian Lucas for Harvard-related queries (all errors are mine);

for conversations on the subjects of risk and reward, Lev Moscow and Nathaniel Popper;

the MacDowell Colony and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference;

the Greathead/Pennoyer family for welcoming me so warmly, and the Waynes for not evicting me;

and, finally, Kate Greathead, who not only tirelessly and sacrificially took time to make this novel the best possible version of itself, but has even more generously done the same for me.