Danny and Ron’s Rescue is a wonderfully unique dog rescue in Florida and South Carolina. I appreciate their tireless efforts and great hearts. Many of the dogs—and the cat—in the book were, in fact, rescues. I thank the owners of all the animals mentioned for generously donating to charity to see the names of their beloved pets in print. I hope you enjoyed seeing your darlings in my novel. They’re all truly characters!
The writing of every book is a dedicated collaboration of the editorial team and the author. In this I’ve been blessed. This book, in particular, is about connection and it’s hard to fully acknowledge the one I share with my editor, Lauren McKenna. We’ve been through many book journeys together. Being a Floridian, Lauren understood the chaos and heartache of hurricanes! And of course, I appreciate the sparkling, creative, hours-long phone calls as we discussed the story. Love you! I’m grateful to my publisher, Jennifer Bergstrom, my champion at Gallery Books, for believing in this story from the beginning and for supporting me and all my books with such heart. I am so fortunate to have a fabulous team at Gallery/Simon & Schuster, and I owe all of you my heartfelt thanks, especially Michelle Podberezniak, Jennifer Long, Jennifer Robinson, Abby Zidle and Maggie Loughran, Alexandre Su, Anabel Jimenez, Mackenzie Hickey, and Tara Schlesinger, and to Lisa Litwack and the art department for another fabulous cover. Finally, a special note of gratitude to Joal Hetherington for the excellent and perspicacious copyediting.
I’m so fortunate to have Faye Bender of The Book Group by my side, especially in the past intense year of work. Thank you for your quiet, firm presence, constant support, and the encouraging words when I most need them.
My home team makes my career a joy. I am humbled by your dedication and support. Thank you, Angela May, for holding me up with joy, wisdom, business savvy (and food), in so many ways every day. I appreciate more than I can say the dedication, hard work, ingenuity, and friendship of Kathie Bennett, also one of the Tryon evacuees. And my love and thanks to the whole team at Magic Time Literary Publicity: Roy Bennett and Susan Zurenda. A big thank-you to Meg Walker at Tandem Literary for your creativity and continued support.
I am the luckiest of women to have friends that care about me, my work, and our collective creative spirit. A special thank you to Patti Callahan Henry and Mary Kay Andrews for our work retreats where we truly work! Your suggestions are invaluable. And Patti, thanks for the blurb and the title of the book! Thank you to my tribe—you know I love you: Signe Pike, Cassandra King, Marjory Wentworth, Patti Morrison, Dorothea Benton Frank, Ellie Davis, Lindy Carter, Nicole Seitz, Nathalie Dupree, Linda Plunkett, Leah Greenberg, Pat Denkler. And my pals on the Turtle Team: Barbara Bergwerf, photographer extraordinaire, and Mary Pringle, Tee Johannes, Barb Gobien, Bev Ballow, Cindy Moore, Christal Cothran, Jo Durham, and my cuz, Christiana Harsch, and all at the incomparable Long Island Cafe, my favorite hangout.
One of the joys of book tours is being able to meet the booksellers. I am grateful to all for your welcome, for hosting events and hand selling my novels. A special note of thanks to my local bookstores. Over the years, we’ve become friends and I’m so grateful for your generous support: Buxton Books, Blue Bicycle Books, Indigo Books, Edisto Books, and Barnes & Noble, Mt. Pleasant. Thanks also to Buzzy Porter, Jackie K. Cooper for all you do. Love you.
Sincere love and thanks to my beloved ARTists. You are always there for me and I feel so fortunate to have your support, comments, and unfailing encouragement. You brighten my days!
Very special love and thanks to Marguerite Martino for her wisdom and the many hours of conversation over coffee and wine at Windover as we dug deep to create complex characters as well as the novel’s themes. Heartfelt thanks to Jim and Kris Cryns for reading my pages and for your edits that brought honesty and humor to the story. And a nod to Gretta Kruesi, who on the day I was evacuating to North Carolina for a hurricane, brainstormed with me a book about evacuation and the influential women who were “forces of nature.” What a thrill that it actually became a book.
I close with those who come first in my heart. Markus, you know you are the wind beneath my wings. Thank you for taking care of me, especially when I push hard under deadline, for listening to my ideas, even in the middle of the night, and for loving me. Finally, in this novel my characters discover what they treasure most in life. This I already know—my family. Love always to Claire, John, Jack, Teddy, Delancey; Gretta, Patrick, Henry; Zachary, Caitlin, Wesley, Penelope.