The Better Liar(97)

Instead, encourage them to seek help independently, in a way that prioritizes their comfort and control. It’s a blessing that postpartum depression has lost some of its stigma over the past few years and is better understood than in previous decades. This means that it is unlikely for someone like Leslie to experience what her mother went through. Leslie, in today’s world, probably went on to meet with a doctor who recommended a therapist who could prescribe an antidepressant that Leslie could take of her own volition.

I know a little of the fear she feels, and I know the shame that follows it. I wanted to write a book that followed my fear to its fullest extent, to see what lived there at the end. I want to make a world where that shame is no longer justified. I hope The Better Liar causes us to discuss how we fail parents during and after childbirth. And I hope, if you are a parent who sees yourself in Leslie’s fear and in my fear, that you are heard, and believed, and helped.

    The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

1-800-273-8255

suicidepreventionlifeline.org for text and chat as well as online support groups

The American Psychological Association’s information page on postpartum depression symptoms and treatment:

apa.org/?pi/?women/?resources/?reports/?postpartum-depression

Postpartum Support International offers a helpline that is answered from 5:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. Pacific time. Call 1-800-944-4773 or text 503-894-9453.

postpartum.net





*1 postpartum.net/?learn-more/?frequently-asked-questions/

*2 papers.ssrn.com/?sol3/?papers.cfm?abstract_id=2617895

*3 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?pubmed/?17194867/

*4 npr.org/?2017/?12/?07/?568948782/?black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon-irvings-story-explains-why

*5 Ibid.

*6 treatmentadvocacycenter.org/?key-issues/?public-service-costs/?2976-people-with-untreated-mental-illness-16-times-more-likely-to-be-killed-by-law-enforcement-





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


This book exists thanks to the help of dozens of people, but first and foremost, I want to thank my agent, Erin Harris, who found me in the slush and elevated, clarified, and broadened what I had imagined. Erin, you always help me see the skeleton under the text, and I’m so grateful for your brilliant insight and empathy.

Thank you to my editor, Elana Seplow-Jolley. I knew right away that you truly understood the book I wanted to make. You’re so generous with your time and your ideas—I’m grateful for the many hours you’ve devoted to the Voigts, and to me. This book is a binding, but it has unbound me in some ways, and that’s your doing. Your work means more to me than I can express.

Thank you to my UK editors, Jade Chandler and Sara Nisha Adams. I never even dared to dream that this book would exist so far away from the place I wrote it, and you made me feel that it could speak to people everywhere. Thank you for your thoughtful notes and your belief in me.

I am grateful to all the people at Penguin Random House who put so many hours into my book, among them Evan Camfield and Pamela Feinstein, who paid close attention to the details; Pamela Alders, who kept us all on track; Diane Hobbing, who made the interior look so beautiful, down to individually created emojis and the running heads I always wanted; Belina Huey, designer of a cover that surprised me and yet made perfect sense, just like the best twists; Taylor Noel, marketing manager and ideal early reader; Melissa Sanford, who let the world know about The Better Liar; and Kara Cesare, Jennifer Hershey, Kim Hovey, and Kara Welsh at the helm of Ballantine, who took a chance on my first novel and made my dreams come true.

    Thanks to the friends who read my book before it was real: Melissa Mejias Parker, Hannah Allaman, Peter Schultz, Arthur Iannacone, and especially Celina Reynes, for your invaluable encouragement and insight.

Thank you to my family for the books you’ve written and read to me over the years, the endless word games and puzzles, pennies for memorized poetry, unlimited library rentals on my twelfth birthday, and your belief in me. Thank you for taking me to Albuquerque every year, and to so many other places.

Most of all I want to thank my partner, Matt Sharp. I loved you first when you wrote to me, and you read me as no one else has. You did the work of making room for me to write, sometimes literally, sometimes emotionally. I am so grateful to know you. I won’t forget, bird—this will be our year.