Woman on the Edge(70)

Everyone at The Bent Agency who collaborated with me, from edits to submission to foreign rights, I owe you a lifetime of gratitude: all the interns, and especially author Kevin van Whye and agents Molly Ker Hawn, Amelia Hodgson, Victoria Cappello, and Claire Draper. A huge thank you also to Sam Brody and Eliza Kirby for their hard work on my behalf.

To the publishers who will translate Woman on the Edge into so many different languages, I thank you for bringing my book to readers all over the world.

I needed the expertise of many professionals, and I’m so thankful to the following people for their time and generosity: criminal defense attorney Donald J. Ramsell, attorney and private investigator Tracy M. Rizzo, Detective Constable Minh Tran, psychotherapist Mitch Smolkin, Dr. S. Bazios, Dr. Elana Lavine, and the Circuit Court of Cook County Guardianship Assistance Desk for Minors. Any errors are my own.

To Lauren Erickson, massage therapist extraordinaire, who suggested Morgan’s name and also untangles the pretzel I twist into when writing.

To all the women who so openly shared their experiences with postpartum depression, anxiety, and mental health struggles, I thank you so very much.

I am so blessed to have the best, most honest beta readers and critique partners, who gave me invaluable feedback from the very first draft to the last: Lisa Brisebois; Jackie Bouchard; especially Francine LaSala and Meredith Schorr, who must have read a hundred drafts; Eileen Goudge; and Lydia Laceby, my best author friend in Toronto, whose talent amazes me.

Francine, Meredith, and Eileen are also part of my beloved writing tribe, the Beach Babes, along with Jen Tucker, Julie Valerie, and Josie Brown. We convene every year for a week in Santa Cruz, and I love and appreciate their phenomenal ability and wicked senses of humor. They are my family, and their friendship sustains me.

To the friends who have encouraged me for so many years: Miko, Michael, Nicole, James, Jenny Z., Catherine, Lesley, Helen, Val, Karen, Christine, Caroline, Jessica, Beth, Maggie, Cheryl, Erin, Lise, Leslie, Laura C., Siobán, Kailey, Rachel, Patty, Simone, Jenny R., Kathy, Matt, Jen S., Deb, Lisa G., Melanie, Sylwia, Jon, and Amanda.

I am a voracious reader and my persistence through years of revising was fueled by the many authors whose words inspire me and whose support is invaluable to me. It would take an entire book to thank them all, but I would like to give special thanks to Jennifer Weiner, Caroline Kepnes, Brenda Janowitz, Lori Nelson Spielman, Lisa Steinke, Liz Fenton, Kristin Harmel, Roselle Lim, Rachael Romero, Maggie Morris, Janis Thomas, Jean Pendziwol, Meredith Jaeger, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Whitney Rakich, Jill Hannah Anderson, Wendy Janes, Amy Heydenrych, Marissa Stapley, Hannah Mary McKinnon, Karma Brown, Jennifer Hillier, Laura Russell-Evans, Anita Kushwaha, Amy Stuart, Rebecca Eckler, Mary Kubica, Roz Nay, Robyn Harding, Catherine McKenzie, Gilly Macmillan, Kimberly Belle, Samantha Downing, Daniela Petrova, Christina McDonald, Emily Carpenter, Andrea Bartz, Kaira Rouda, Heather Gudenkauf, Laura Sims, Paula Treick DeBoard, Kate Moretti, Sonja Yoerg, Natalie Jenner, Halley Sutton, Lisa Barr, Jen Griswell, Jess Skoog, Julie Lawson Timmer, and Danielle Younge-Ullman.

I am so grateful to the bloggers, bookstagrammers, and readers who give so much of their time to support authors and keep me stocked in book recommendations: Elizabeth Gunderson; Melissa Amster of Chick Lit Central; Marlene Roberts Engel; Suzanne Fine; Kaley Stewart of Books Etc.; Dany Drexler; Andrea Peskind Katz of Great Thoughts’ Great Readers; Athena Kaye; Jamie Rosenblit of Beauty and the Book; Kristy Barrett and Tonni Callan of A Novel Bee; Kate Rock of KateRock LitChick; Sonica Soares of The Reading Beauty; Barbara Bos of Women Writers, Women’s Books; Tamara Welch of Traveling with T; Judith D. Collins; Books and Chinooks; Nic Farrell of Flirty and Dirty Book Blog; Shell of The Big Fat Bookworm; LindyLouMac’s Book Reviews; Suzanne Leopold of Suzy Approved Book Reviews; Cindy Roesel; and all the others who are the reason readers know about our books.

And thank you to the booksellers and librarians everywhere who will stock Woman on the Edge, recommend it, and help me find the books I want and need to read. They are the unsung heroes.

I will always be grateful to my eighth-grade teacher, Malcolm Crawford, who gave an insecure little girl the English award at graduation and told her she had talent.

My family has never stopped believing in me: Jonah, Perlita, Hannah, Mikey, Eileen, Ron, Lindsay, Scott, Felix, Bassie, Todd, Lori, Brynna, and Owen. I love you all so much. How lucky I am.

I dedicated this novel to my parents, Michael and Celia, because I grew up reading. I read while eating and walking, and often banged into poles because my head was in a book. In stories, I found myself. My parents never stopped me from reading any book I wanted (the ones they knew about), and they instilled in me the confidence never to give up on my dream. I can only hope I do the same for my children.

Finally, and most important, I could never write without the support, love, and excited encouragement of my husband and children. They give me the space to write, the inspiration to create, and the love and laughter that is my world. Brent, Spencer, and Chloe, you all fearlessly follow your own dreams and passions, and I am so proud of all of you. You are my sun, moon, and stars.

And to you, my readers, who wanted to read Woman on the Edge. I only get to live my dream because of you, and I thank you with my whole heart.