Unraveling Oliver

Acknowledgments

I feel blessed and honored to be published by Scout Press and championed by all those at Simon & Schuster, but most particular thanks to Jackie Cantor, who really wanted to unravel Oliver in the United States and to become his, and my, champion. Huge gratitude also to Louise Burke and Jen Bergstrom for trusting Jackie’s instincts; to Jennifer Robinson and Liz Psaltis and their publicity and marketing teams, including the wonderful publicist Meagan Harris, for bringing this book to your attention; to Lisa Litwack, who has made such a handsome-looking book out of my tumble of words; to production editor Chelsea Cohen; and to Marla Daniels, for coping with all of the unknown unknowns along the way.

Heartfelt thanks to Marianne Gunn O’Connor, my agent, who deserves her excellent reputation for incredible support; to Vicky Satlow, for her determination on my behalf; and to Pat Lynch for making it all count.

An unpayable debt of gratitude to Patricia Deevy, my original editor at Penguin Ireland, for shaping this sow’s ear into a more silken-like purse.

Sincere gratitude for expert research advice from:

Mark Shriver Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Genetics at Pennsylvania State University; David MacHugh Ph.D., Associate Professor of Genomics at University College Dublin; and Kieran Gaffney, Charge Care Officer at the Central Mental Hospital, Dublin.

Thank you to Duchess Goldblatt and her loyal devotees, to Benjamin Dreyer, to early readers Shaileen Kelly Landsberg and Anne Heausler. I am also very grateful to Alison McKenna and Culture Ireland for bringing me to the Lincoln Centre Library for the Performing Arts, NYC, as part of Salon Eire in 2016 before I was published in the United States. That’s faith!

To my eight siblings, my in-laws, and all of their current and former partners, I value you as friends as much as family, and your support means everything. To my wonderful mother, who sacrificed so much to get us here.

To my husband, Richard McCullough, I adore you. x