Girl Out of Water(88)

? ? ?

We line the coast, dot after dot, surfboards by our sides, clothing by our feet. The wind whips lightly around us, promising smooth, mild waves. Cassie stands on one side of me, Lincoln the other, the glowing ocean in front of us.

“Ready?” Cassie calls.

Our readies chorus down the beach. And then all at once, we scream, “One, two, three,” and blast off into the ocean. My strong thighs wade into the surf, and my board accepts me as I jump on and paddle out, watching the perfect wave pulse toward me, as if it were waiting for me, as if it knew I were coming.

As I mount my board, I see Tess on the shore, dancing, twirling around as if on an invisible string, and I hear my friends holler at the moon as the ocean collects us, racing us toward shore, hurtling us toward home.





Acknowledgments


No one told me writing book acknowledgments would be harder than writing a book. I’m terrible with sentimentality and memory. I’ll do my best to thank everyone who supported me. If I forget to mention you, please accept this thank you and preemptive apology.

To all of my readers with disabilities, thank you for finding this book. I hope you discovered some comfort and joy in it. I’m disabled due to crippling chronic pain. Lincoln’s story isn’t my story, but I hope it helps spread the message that disabled is never a person’s sole characteristic. Our disabilities are a part of us, but they are in no way our full definition.

To Mom and Dad, of course. You were there for me as a little girl who loved words, as a young adult who wanted a graduate degree in writing, and now as an adult who leans on you in countless ways so I can continue to live and create stories. I love you. And also I love you. And lastly, I love you.

To the rest of my family, thank you for your constant affection and encouragement. I love you all, but I must specifically thank my grandparents: Papa Bobby, thank you for your love and for buying me tampons at Costco. Grandma, thank you for your love and for never saying no to a movie. Bubbie, thank you for your love and for teaching me the best card games. Zayde, thank you for your love; you are no longer with us, but you are always remembered. Thank you to my older brother Phillip, who is also no longer with us, but always supported my writing dreams, even when I was a little kid with nothing more than a spiral notebook and mechanical pencil with a chewed eraser. Thank you to my cousin Lauren Sandler Rose who constantly showers me with love, and my tenacious cousin Brandon Sabin, who serves this country and taught me about skateboarding.

To all of the remarkable people I met at the New School, where I wrote the initial drafts of this book. Thank you to all of my fantastic teachers, including David Levithan and Caron Levis. Thank you to my wonderful thesis advisor, Jill Santopolo, who I will always credit with helping turn my manuscript into an actual novel. Thank you to all of my peers, especially those from the Writing for Children program, and especially Elie Lichtschein, Lauren Vassallo, and Meghan Drummond. And especially especially (not a typo because y’all are worth the extra adverb) my three closest friends from graduate school and some of the most talented writers out there: Amanda Saulsberry, Anna Meriano, and Kiki Chatzopoulou. I write better because of you and keep writing because of you.

To my best friend in the world, Elise Laplante, for always supporting me, especially on the hard path I’ve faced lately, and yes, I’m giving you a shout-out in my book acknowledgments for driving my things from New York City to Atlanta. No one but a true best friend would drive that many hours to bring me my books and shoes.

Elise, you’re my person.

To my other best friend, Katie King, for loving my words and me, for taking my author photos, for being an exceptional college roommate, and for loving board games as much as I do. I know you’re going to accomplish great things in graduate school.

To some other wonderful friends, both new and old. It’s been a challenging few years, and y’all have been there for me: Nic Stone, Brittany Kane, Becky Abertalli, Tristina Wright, Marieke Nijkamp, Abbie Blizzard, Laura O’Neill, Katherine Locke, Samira Ahmed, Whitney Gardner, Katherine Menezes, Justin Waxman, Angela Thomas, Raya Siddiqi, Tehlor Kinney, Christy Michell, Misa Sugiura, Deborah Kim, all of my Twitter darlings, and so many others.

To the people who’ve read this book, from friends to sensitivity readers to peers: Kayla Burson, Laney Berger, Ashley Woodfolk, Jay Coles, Dave Connis, Alex Wing, Melanie Sliker, Kayla Whaley, and again, all of my Writing for Children classmates.

To my outstanding agent Jim McCarthy. I walked into DG&B as an intern and left as your proud client. Thank you for seeing something in this book and in me. Thank you for answering midnight emails. I look forward to many more years of working together (in which I’ll try not to send you midnight emails).

To my editor Annette Pollert-Morgan—yes, I’m using the one dash on purpose just for you. It’s been an incredible pleasure working with you. Your insights have made my book the strongest version of itself. I can’t thank you enough.

To the rest of my team at Sourcebooks, thank you for being passionate, hardworking, and kind. I look forward to getting to know all of you, but for now, special thanks to Katy Lynch, Cassie Gutman, Alex Yeadon, Katherine Prosswimmer, Stefani Sloma, and Todd Stocke.

To my characters, thank you for barging into my brain and demanding I tell your stories. I hope to meet you again one day.

And finally to all of my readers, thank you. Perhaps we’ll say hello once more in the pages of my next book.