The book was sprawled on the floor where he had flung it. She brought it over to the couch, tossed off the diaper, and lay lengthwise, on her stomach. She turned to the last chapter. The red cross-outs had faded, and it was, she could easily see now, a fine ending.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am indebted to the following people for their close reading, advice, and guidance with these stories: Don Lee at Ploughshares, Hannah Tinti at One Story, Christina Thompson at Harvard Review, Leigh Haber at Oprah Daily, Tyler Clements, Calla King-Clements, Eloise King-Clements, Josh Bodwell, Susan Conley, Sara Corbett, Anja Hanson, Caitlin Gutheil, Debra Spark, Linden Frederick, and Laura Rhoton McNeal. These pieces were transformed into a collection during a pandemic by the phenomenal people at Grove Atlantic: my brilliant and beloved editor Elisabeth Schmitz, Morgan Entrekin, Deb Seager, Judy Hottensen, Justina Batchelor, Sam Trovillion, Amy Hundley, Gretchen Mergenthaler, Julia Berner-Tobin, Paula Cooper Hughes, and Yvonne Cha. I’m deeply grateful to my dear and spectacular agent, Julie Barer. It’s impossible to publish a story collection without acknowledging my high school English teacher, Tony Paulus, who taught me what a short story was, then told me to write them. A thousand thanks to my husband, Tyler, and our daughters, Eloise and Calla, for everything every day.
About the Author
Lily King is the author of The Pleasing Hour, The English Teacher, Father of the Rain, Euphoria and Writers & Lovers, which was a New York Times bestseller. Euphoria won the Kirkus Prize and the New England Book Award for Fiction, and was also a New York Times bestseller. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. King is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award and has twice won both the Maine Fiction Award and the New England Book Award. She lives with her husband and children in Maine, USA.