The Border of Paradise

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not be what it is without the following people, places, and institutions, for which I am gobsmackingly grateful.

To Miriam Lawrence, who has read this novel almost as many times as I have, randomly quoting bits of it back to me, and generously offered much-needed advice and cheerleading along the way; to Anna North, my former swimming companion and brilliant friend; to the keen mind and friendship of Anisse Gross. Gratitude to the writerly smarts of Andi Winnette and the present and former members of the No-Name Writing Group, all of whom took time and energy out of their busy lives for the Nowaks and me. A special note of thanks to Mira Ptacin, who, without knowing much about me at all, dragged me across the finish line when I was ready to lie down and die.

To my tireless agent, Amy Williams, who believed in this book when it was but a single chapter; to my editor, C. P. Heiser, who offered editorial insight and encouragement, as well as a wealth of support; and to all the folks at Unnamed Press, including Olivia Taylor Smith, for bringing this literary dark horse and its author into the fold.

To the Gibraltar Point Artscape, the Vermont Studio Center, Hedgebrook, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, for giving me time and space with which to write; to Sara Carbaugh, the Grass Valley Public Library, and the Nevada County Historical Center, for invaluable research assistance; to Helen Zell, the Hopwood Awards, and the Elizabeth George Foundation, for their financial resources; to Leigh Stein, Dyana Valentine, Jenny Zhang, Vauhini Vara, Tanya Geisler, Aaron Silberstein, and the women of BinderCon, for friendship, support, and community. To my doctors and counselor, Dr. Grieder, Dr. McInnes, and Grace Quantock, for helping to manage my body and mind.

To Stanford University and the University of Michigan, which gifted me writing teachers and mentors such as Malena Watrous, Katherine Noel, Eric Puchner, Elizabeth Tallent, Eileen Pollack, Nicholas Delbanco, and Michael Byers. To Yiyun Li, for permission. Special thanks to Doug Trevor, my thesis adviser for The Border of Paradise when it was in its infancy.

To those I have lost: thank you.

To my parents, and the people and places they came from; to Allen and Claudia; to the parents and family that I married into, and the people and places they came from.

And, finally, to Chris and Daphne, who remind me of everything that is good in this world.