Overdue - 38

I’ve been working with books since I was a teenager, so my first heartfelt thanks are for my coworkers during the years when I was a bookseller and a librarian. Thank you to Kevin Tobin, who gave me my start in the industry, and thank you to all the other booksellers who saved my life as a teenager and showed me that I had a future to look forward to. Thank you to the librarians who then picked up the reins in my twenties and taught me how to be an adult. I fiercely love and admire all of you.

Thank you to the booksellers at Malaprop’s, my hometown indie bookstore, for their vital presence in our community. And thank you to the other marvelous booksellers and librarians around the world that I have been so fortunate to cross paths with in my career as an author. I’m especially grateful for your hard work on the front lines of the current book-banning crisis in America. Thank you for continuing to fight for our right to read the books that make other people uncomfortable.

I’m actually still a librarian—a volunteer now for over a decade. And I’m thankful for my fellow librarians and the patrons at that special library, too. I’m so grateful to still be putting books into the hands of people who need them.

As for this book, my agent, Kate Testerman, has always been my champion. Thank you, Kate, for being by my side since day one. Thank you also to Maria Napolitano for your help internationally and to my outstanding film agent, Dana Spector.

Thank you to my editor, Sara Goodman, for your keen guidance and gemlike wisdom, and thank you for honoring the time and space that I needed to figure out how to write this. What a gift! I don’t take it lightly.

Thank you to Olga Grlic for creating a cover that I recognize myself—and Ingrid and Macon—in, and thanks to the entire team at Saturday Books and Macmillan for your incredible support and collective friendliness: Jennifer Enderlin, Merilee Croft, Cassie Gutman, Brant Janeway, Kim Ludlum, Michelle McMillian, Erica Martirano, Althea Mignone, Zoë Miller, Alexis Neuville, Sarah Pazen, Eileen Rothschild, and Erica Young. Thank you to Manning Krull for the beautiful case stamp. And thank you also to all of my publishing teams overseas.

Kiersten White gave me feedback for every single version of this novel and is my constant texting companion. I am forever grateful for her friendship. Alison Cherry gave my sentences a tremendous workout, which gave me a peace of mind. Jade Timms is a brilliant reader and hilarious one-woman podcaster, Myra Simmons graciously listened to me read this entire book out loud, Jeff Zentner swooped in with excellent suggestions during a crisis, and Laini Taylor left behind such kind comments in my margins that I bear-hugged my laptop. David Arnold, Nina LaCour, and David Levithan were also delightful sources of encouragement throughout this process. Thank you, all.

Thank you to my mom and dad for a lifetime of unconditional love, as well to my wonderful mom and dad who live next door to me.

Thank you to my sister. Always my sister.

Thank you to Lauren Biehl and Melisa Pressley for answering my research questions, and thank you to every friend who has ever shared their dating horror stories with me, some of which I have pilfered for this novel. Thank you to the luminous minds in my afternoon meditation group. And I’ve played the photo game with a number of coworkers over the years, but Lynn Hunter was the first. Thank you, Lynn, for helping me get through those long and tedious shifts.

My biggest thank-you of all is reserved for my husband, Jarrod Perkins, who supports me daily in an infinite number of thoughtful ways. Who is the cheerful sunshine to my gloomy rain cloud. Who helped me paint our house my favorite colors. How lucky we are to have found each other so young, and for it to still be so right.

Finally, this novel was completed in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Ridgetop was inspired by my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, which suffered a great many losses in the storm. It’s still difficult to process and discuss what happened here, but miracles also arose out of the tragedy: kindness, empathy, and generosity. Neighbors helped neighbors, party lines be damned. It gave me a glimpse back into our collective humanity. It reminded me of who we really are and who we can choose to be. Thank you, Asheville. The world is a better place with you still in it.