The Kindest Lie(105)
To Hezekiah. To Hezekiah.
Dino lumbered over to the record stack and found the Temptations Christmas album and set the needle to “Silent Night.”
“This was Hezekiah’s favorite, and I think we need something a little f-f-festive,” he said, and pulled Mama into his arms.
They all moved with the music, letting the melody wash over them, the spiritual meeting the secular in some excelsis that could only be described as soulful.
Ruth had grown into both parts of herself in this town that did more than kill dreams. It birthed them, too. She could never escape this place, and she didn’t want to, because these people were in her and she in them.
Perfect mothers didn’t exist, only perfectly flawed ones did. She couldn’t predict how far Corey would go in this world, just as Mama and Joanna couldn’t have known what would become of Ruth and Eli. Yet they still believed beyond what they could see. This day here in Ganton was a love note to Hezekiah and Harriet, W.E.B., and Booker T. And at the start of this new year, Ruth imagined the ancestors dancing somewhere right along with them.
Acknowledgments
In a St. Petersburg, Florida, parking lot after a writing workshop, author James Anderson said this to me: “Whatever you do, don’t let Ruth and Midnight languish on the side of the road. Only you can breathe life into them.” About a decade earlier, journalist Byron Pitts sent me a note that I kept taped to my bedroom mirror for years. Quoting Maya Angelou, he wrote, “You are the hope and dream of the slave.” Those wise words carried me through the still waters and the turbulent tides of this journey to publication.
First, thank you to my brilliant agent, Danielle Bukowski of Sterling Lord Literistic, for plucking me out of the Twitter slush pile, believing in this book, and being my escort to the publishing ball every step of the way.
To my incomparable editor, Liz Stein of William Morrow, whose razor-sharp editorial eye strengthened this book, you helped me make the story on the page match the vision in my head, and for that, I can’t thank you enough.
While this novel is a work of fiction, I consulted subject matter experts for accuracy and authenticity. Thank you to Tammy M. Minger of Minger Law Office for background on Indiana adoption law; Evan Smith, a research and development and process engineer, for explaining the work of chemical engineers in the consumer-packaged-goods industry; and Sergeant Adam Henkels of the Chicago Police Department for details on gang recruitment tactics. Any factual errors are mine and mine alone.
This novel would not exist without these phenomenal beta readers who offered the most valuable, insightful critique: Erin Bartels, Julie Carrick Dalton, Alison Hammer, Alison Murphy, and Milo Todd.
The first person I call with book news—the good, the bad, and the petty—is Julie Carrick Dalton, my literary soulmate and the most generous writer I know. Every milestone on our journeys to becoming debut authors has been in lockstep. We’re opposites in so many ways, yet I can’t imagine a better sidekick on this crazy ride!
Alison Hammer is always up for meeting me at local book events and sharing wisdom from her own debut journey. I’m so appreciative.
Michele Montgomery, thank you for the long-distance accountability writing dates in the home stretch and for all the candles you lit for my book’s success.
I’m indebted to the writing organizations that helped me hone my craft and gave me a tribe: Eckerd College Writers in Paradise, Kimbilio Fiction, Tin House, Hurston/Wright Foundation, GrubStreet, Mystery Writers of America Midwest, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, FLOW (For Love of Writing), StoryStudio Chicago, and Writer Unboxed.
Every accomplished author I studied under in workshops influenced the shape of this book and the ones to come: Ann Hood, Laura Lippman, Lori Roy, David Haynes, Tayari Jones, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and Donald Maass.
A special note of gratitude to author Caroline Leavitt, who was the first to review an early draft of the novel. Thank you for being my cheerleader and literary fairy godmother.
I’m also grateful to bookseller Pamela Klinger-Horn of Excelsior Bay Books and Ron Block of Cuyahoga County Public Library for being early and vocal champions of this novel.
The writing community teaches and lifts me every day. I wish I had enough space to tell the stories of how each of you has supported me, but know that I’m smiling and remembering as I type your names: Denny S. Bryce, Heather Webb, Therese Walsh, Rita Woods, Irene Reed, Catherine Adel West, Mary Hawley, Julie Clark, Suzanne Park, Kristin Rockaway, Kathleen Barber, Lori Rader-Day, Heather Ash, Susanna Calkins, Mia Manansala, Ava Black, Cynthia Pelayo, Bo Thunboe, Lainey Cameron, Lisa Montanaro, Mary Chase, Amy Melnicsak, Kasia Manolas, Robb Cadigan, Cerrissa Kim, Beth Havey, Jane Rosenthal, Leah DeCesare, Kathryn Craft, Louise Miller, Amy Sue Nathan, Eve Bridburg, and Sonya Larson.
Publishing a book and building an author career require the expertise of a team. Thankfully, I have a dynamic one by my side, including Alice Lawson, my TV/film agent at Gersh. Also, the entire William Morrow/HarperCollins family: Tavia Kowalchuk in marketing and Bianca Flores in publicity; Greg Villepique, copy editor, and Jeanie Lee, production editor; Ploy Siripant, cover designer, and Nancy Singer, interior pages designer; and Vedika Khanna, the assistant editor who handled details, large and small.
So many teachers over the years have nurtured my love for books and writing. One in particular is Donald Nekrosius, my high school English teacher at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. He told me I had something important to say and that the world needed my voice. He planted the seed, and eventually, I believed it, too.