—Colonel Franklin Barret, USAF Retired
Acknowledgments
It’s difficult to account for everyone and everything that has helped make this book a reality since my first hurried concept notes more than ten years ago in a Tokyo internet cafe. But it’s hard to imagine a writing life where I’m not preoccupied by the relationships woven through our ancient past, as well as those that will reside in our future in interstellar space. This book would not have been written were it not for the Time-Life Mysteries of the Unknown volumes in my elementary school library, Carl Sagan guiding my imagination through the stars in his series, Cosmos, and hours upon hours of Star Trek—for the heart just as much as the adventure. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the following books, which helped me wade through the complexities of death and grief, often when I was navigating my own losses: How We Die and How We Live by Sherwin Nuland, The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford, Stiff by Mary Roach, and Consciousness beyond Life by Pim van Lommel.
Beyond this foundation, I first need to profusely thank my agent, Annie Hwang, who believed in How High We Go in the Dark through several evolutions and who guided me through the submission/deal process in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic with empathy, enthusiasm, and careful consideration. At William Morrow, I couldn’t have asked for a more passionate editor than Jessica Williams, who helped me bring to life my worlds and characters beyond my wildest expectations. I’m also grateful to the eagle eyes of my copyeditor, Laura Cherkas, who combed through time and space to help me better realize the architecture of the book. And to everyone else on the William Morrow team, including my publicist, Eliza Rosenberry; marketer Ryan Shepherd; and publishers Liate Stehlik and Jennifer Hart for helping bring this big part of my life to readers. And to everyone on the Bloomsbury UK team, including Joel Arcanjo, Rachel Wilkie, Ros Ellis, and particularly my editor Paul Baggaley, whose early reaction to How High We Go in the Dark on a video conference call nearly made me cry.
A heartfelt thank-you to all of the writers and editors who have read early extracts of this book along the way or who have simply provided much-needed community. In particular I’d like to thank Dan Paul, Andy Harnish, Jessica Easto, Ashley Sigmon, Pinckney Benedict, Scott Blackwood, and Beth Lordan for early feedback on chapters that would later prove instrumental in this book. To Alexander Weinstein for the literary community on Martha’s Vineyard during which time I toiled away on my novel in my room late at night. And to all of my old Zoetrope friends, particularly Ovo Adagha, whose invitation to contribute to an international anthology early in my career gave me a needed push to pursue my literary dreams. To all of my students past and present—I am only the writer I am because of you. You keep me on my toes. You remind me of the utter joy of telling stories. There are too many people to thank here, but you know who you are. I see you. I appreciate you. I want to shout your successes from the rooftops.
To my family, who opened my world through frequent trips to the bookstore and comics store and who never shied away from encouraging my strange and nerdy hobbies. And most of all, I owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, Cole, who has listened to every half-baked idea and rambling brainstorm, and has put up with eating dinner just a bit later whenever I was writing. Sometimes I cannot believe that I get to share a life of stories with you. I promise we’ll eat dinner in a minute.
About the Author
SEQUOIA NAGAMATSU is a Japanese American writer and managing editor of Psychopomp Magazine, an online quarterly dedicated to innovative prose. Originally from Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay Area, he holds an MFA in creative writing from Southern Illinois University and a BA in anthropology from Grinnell College. His work has appeared in such publications as Conjunctions, The Southern Review, ZYZZYVA, Fairy Tale Review, and Tin House, among others. He is the author of the award-winning short story collection Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone and works as an associate professor of creative writing at St. Olaf College. He currently lives in Minnesota with his wife, their cat, and a robot dog named Calvino.
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