This Story Might Save Your Life(102)

I tell this story because—well, because it fills me with Joy. (Pun intended.) Thank you for indulging me. Moving on to the actual purpose of this section, I would like to extend my gratitude to Narcolepsy Network for providing me with a comprehensive spectrum of resources on narcolepsy. Julie Flygare, thank you for writing your beautiful book, Wide Awake and Dreaming: A Memoir of Narcolepsy. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark—your trajectory to fame with My Favorite Murder was a huge inspiration for the podcast elements of TSMSYL. You’re both queens, and I’m proud to call myself a day-one listener. SSDGM. Henry Winkler, I’ve spent a lot of time imagining your face on a desk statue these past few years. Thank you for being a stand-up guy.

Thank you to my early readers. Ryan Van Wyhe, you’re not just my brother, you’re my first best friend and greatest cheerleader. Thank you for being you. Tremendous thanks to my mom, Nancy Albers, for always believing in me, and for reading every draft of every book since the very beginning. I’m so grateful to you and Terry Markus for your generosity while I was pursuing my MFA. Thank you also to my incredible sister-in-law Heather Griffin for reading multiple drafts, and for patiently enduring my endless babble about publishing while we solve our weekend crossword puzzles.

Lauren Edson and Kristen Giang—thank you for your excellent early feedback, as always, and for enthusiastically riding the publishing roller coaster with me throughout the years. Our text thread brings me joy every single day. Huge thanks to my pajama book club—Jennifer Carlton, Hilary Kotula, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Dorian Pham. You’re my favorite people to leg wrestle with. The surprise party you threw for me when I sold this book was the BEST PARTY EVER, HANDS DOWN. Love you to bits.

I owe a big thanks to Bridget Maiellaro for helping coin TSMSYL’s catchphrase. And to Alexandra Marino for your valuable feedback on my ending. Thank you to Trena Keating for believing in my writing in its nascent days. And to Elizabeth Schulte Martin, who’s read every story I’ve written since we were pregnant together fourteen years ago. Carol Vitali, I’m grateful for your early reads, and for your readily available writers’ lifts. Nina Simon, thank you so much for the early endorsement.

Warmest thanks to my mom’s book club, Women with Spines. Janine Bird, Lois Chohon, Katie Claypool, Barb Stampke, and Donna Tessmer—your generous feedback was exactly the boost I needed before my final pre-sub revision.

Much gratitude to the Hambidge Center, where I write these words while watching the snow fall through the windows of the Mellinger cabin. The residency you provided during crunch time was a godsend. Thank you also to Dad and Janet for offering up your Colorado home for summer “writing retreats” over the years. The dismemberments episode of TSMSYL is dedicated to you, Norman Van Wyhe.;)

This book would not exist without my agent team. Stefanie Lieberman, I won the lottery when you offered representation. Working with you and Molly Steinblatt and Adam Hobbins (and now Alysse Rodriguez—welcome to the team!) has been like earning another MFA in creative writing, plus a PhD in publishing. Thank you for your insight and guidance, and for helping make my dream come true times ten.

I owe so much to my editor, Christine Kopprasch. You are a gift to the publishing world. Thank you for obsessing over the details, and for helping me elevate this book to something I am truly proud of. That Zoom (everyone at Flatiron knows which one) was easily the best moment of my life. (Sorry, kids. Your births tie for second.)

From day one, I’ve been gobsmacked by the passion and ingenuity of the stellar team at Flatiron. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank: Deb Futter, Megan Lynch, Kate Keating, Marlena Bittner, Claire McLaughlin, Emily Dyer, Mary Beth Roche, Robert Allen, Janine Barlow, Carla Benton, Maris Tasaka, Emily Walters, Rima Weinberg, Cassie Gutman, and Jason Reigal. Kate Lucas, thank you for your constant support, and for helping me unlock my final scene. Elishia Merricks, thank you for blessing my audiobook with your genius production ideas. Malati Chavali, I’m so grateful to you for championing my book in such a personal way. Donna Sinisgalli Noetzel, thank you for the stunning page design. Laywan Kwan, I adore my evocative, bold cover.

I’d also like to acknowledge the talented artist Seth Armstrong—thank you for letting us use your beautiful painting on my cover.

Thank you to Kit Nevile and Phoebe Morgan and the incredible team at Hodder & Stoughton. To my foreign rights team: Hayley Steed, Mina Yakinya, Nathaniel Alcaraz-Stapleton, Emily Randle, and Maimy Suleiman—thank you for getting my book into the hands of readers in more countries than I ever let myself dream possible. Thank you to my film/TV agents, Orly Greenberg and Olivia Fanaro, who moved mountains during a very trying time in Hollywood. And to Brittani Hilles, for being a publicist and cheerleader and hand-holder all wrapped into one.

The snow is still falling, and I’m tearing up even before I write these next words. Mason and August, thank you for being born. I’ve spent your entire lives dreaming of dedicating a book to you, and I could not be prouder of the men you’re becoming. I love you most.

And to Matt—my rock, my best friend, my Benny. Never once in eighteen years did you so much as hint that I should maybe, perhaps, give up this crazy dream, even as we struggled to make ends meet. You are patient, and kind, and wise enough to know I’d be miserable to live with if I didn’t have time to write. For this, and for a million other things, I will always love you.