Invisible City (Rebekah Roberts #1)(79)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


Thank you first and foremost to my husband, Joel, for pushing me to write, sacrificing holidays and vacations together so I could finish the first draft, and never wavering in your certainty that I could—and should—complete this book. Your ideas and imagination made Invisible City stronger, and your love has made my life a dream come true.

Thank you to my own personal literary dream-team: my crackerjack agent, Stephanie Kip Rostan; and Minotaur’s editor extraordinaire, Kelley Ragland. Your enthusiasm, intelligence, and support have made all this possible.

Thank you to Justen Ahren, Claudia Miller, and everyone at the Martha’s Vineyard Writers Residency. You have created a truly magical place for writers. I would not have finished this book without you.

Thank you to Liora and Larry Fogelman, who invited me to use their home as a writing retreat at a critical time in the life of the book.

Thank you to 48 Hours executive producer Susan Zirinsky for supporting my work on this book. You have been my cheerleader, mentor, and friend.

Several people within the Orthodox and “off the derech” community in New York and New Jersey provided generous—and invaluable—service. Thank you to Ben Hirsch and Daniel Soskowitz for guidance early on and encouragement throughout. Thank you to Rebecca Schischa, Chana Schwartz, and Mimi Minsky for your close reads and honest notes. Thank you to Judy Braun, Pearl Reich, Shauli Gro’s, and Chaim Levin for inviting me into your lives, trusting me with your stories, answering my dumb questions, and being such fun drinking partners. There are others I will not name, but you know who you are. Thank you.

Thank you to my incredible family: the “Chicago Dahls” and Nancy and Walter Urbach.

Thank you to my parents, Bill and Barbara Dahl, and my sister, Susan Sharer. Our two-religion household seemed odd to many, but we know it was exactly right.

This book is dedicated to my grandparents: Reba and Robert Blum, Jr., and Jeannette and Ernest Dahl. Your lives inspire me.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


JULIA DAHL is a journalist specializing in crime and criminal justice. She has worked as a reporter for CBS News.com and the New York Post, and her feature articles have appeared in Mental Floss, Salon, the Columbia Journalism Review, and many others. She was born in Fresno, California, to a Lutheran father and Jewish mother and now lives in Brooklyn.