Don't Forget to Write: A Novel(100)

Thank you to my father, Jordan Goodman, for knowing practically everything and knowing exactly who to ask the few times when you didn’t. Mom may say I’m Google, but I think that makes you the encyclopedia—the original know-it-all, and I appreciate you so much.

Thank you to my grandmother, Charlotte Chansky, for the lifetime of stories, support, and love.

This book would absolutely not exist without my aunt and uncle, Dolly and Marvin Band. They were 90 percent of my research, and there is no way I could have finished it on time without their help. From the cars, to how to get to Atlantic City before the AC Expressway, to what you wore on the boardwalk (with adorable pictures to prove it!), to how people did their hair back then, the two of you knew everything and answered every single question I had immediately. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so generous with your time, your memories, your support, and your love.

Thank you to my cousins Ken and Arlene Sirmarco for finding the perfect location for Ada’s house and sharing your memories of growing up in Philadelphia in the 1960s. You saved me hours of research, and I’m so, so sorry Ken isn’t here to see the finished product.

Thank you to my brother, Adam, sister-in-law, Nicole, and nephews Cam and Luke. Love you to the moon and back.

Jennifer Doehner Lucina. Are there even still words? I couldn’t do any of this without you. Thank you for catching every typo, and thank you for twenty-eight years of friendship (which is CLEARLY bad math because we’re both younger than that, and I refuse to hear otherwise). Love you so much!

Thank you to my uncle Michael Chansky and aunt Stephanie Abbuhl, for letting us use your Avalon house so generously. (And to my cousins Andrew, Peter, and Ben, for not being in town the week I came up with this book!) I hope the references to familiar places make you smile.

Thank you to my cousin Allison Band, for being such a huge champion of my writing. Here’s hoping we get to see some of these on a screen soon!

Thank you to my “Band” cousins, Andy Levine, Ian and Kim Band, Mindy and Alan Nagler, Maddy Levine, Jolie Band, Trevor Band, and Matthew Nagler.

Thank you to Mark Kamins, for handling all the financial aspects of my life so I don’t have to actually understand how taxes work.

Thank you to Kevin Keegan, for making me the writer that I am today—even though you’re also why I’m too em-dash happy. And yes, we’ll find you a role in the movie.

Thank you to Sarah McKinley, for dropping everything to be a beta reader for this and for our group chat, which kept me sane while writing this during the start of the school year. Love you!

Thank you to Rachel Friedman, for being my partner in crime on this journey through motherhood, life, and all the things in between.

Thank you to Sarah Elbeshbishi, for being my go-to person. Beta reader, dog sitter, babysitter, personal assistant, and friend.

Thank you to Sonya Shpilyuk, for keeping me sane at my other job.

Thank you to Paulette Kennedy, for believing I could do this even when I didn’t think I could. Your faith in me made this book a reality.

Thank you to my crew of author friends, Jennifer Bardsley, Elissa Dickey, Mansi Shah, Annie Cathryn, Lacie Waldon, Maddie Dawson, and Rochelle Weinstein.

Thank you to Katie Stutzman, Jan Guttman, Reka Montfort, Kerrin Torres, Laura Davis Vaughan, Haben and Mike Asghedom, Joye Young Saxon, Christen Dimmick, Amy Shellabarger, Christine Wilson, Jessica Markham, Allison Kimball, Shelley Miller, Jenna Levine Liu, Jeremy Horton, Sophia Becker, and Kim Thibault, for being my people.

Thank you to Carol Goddard, for supporting me in both careers. I can’t tell you how much I will miss you!

Thank you to my Bookstagram fam, for being my street team. I owe you all so much.

Thank you to the Confino family.

Thank you to my youngest supporters, Charlotte, Genevieve, and Nathaniel Lucina; Aurora, Elena, and Zara Asghedom; Maya and Rosa Shpilyuk-Franklin; and Belle and Sam Wilson. I’m not a celebrity, but I love that you think I am!

Thank you to my students, past and present.

And finally, thank you to my readers, for making my dream a reality.