A shout-out to my Early Bird writing family—the two Pamelas, Virginia, Nancy, Joan, Catherine, Stephanie, Della, Priya, Heather, and Sheila; and to the WFWA Zoom Writing Date writers—you know who you are—you transformed the pandemic into something bearable for me—especially you, Michele Montgomery.
Curmudgeon Book Club, thank you for reminding me I am also a reader.
To Tall Poppy Writers, WFWA Historical Fiction Group, and Lake Union Authors, your support is unparalleled.
To my readers, thank you all for your emails, reviews, kind words, encouragement, and social media support. I keep you all in my heart when I write. Lucky for me, it’s getting kind of crowded in there.
In addition to gathering oral histories, I read and/or referenced the following books while writing this story. Each one added to my understanding of the era. I used what I learned but employed my imagination to best serve the story. Amy Vanderbilt’s New Complete Book of Etiquette; Etiquette by Emily Post; The Luella Cuming Studio Course in Social Awareness, Poise, and Gracious Living by Luella Cuming; McCall’s Book of Everyday Etiquette; Not to People Like Us: Hidden Abuse in Upscale Marriages by Susan Weitzman; Philadelphia Jewish Life 1940–1985, edited by Murray Friedman; The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel; Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living; The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan; The Jewish Community of West Philadelphia by Allen Meyers; The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas.
I especially thank my kids, Zachary, Chloe, and Taylor, who, as adults, allow me to parent them. I’m grateful they sometimes flip the roles because they are much smarter than I am.
Last but not least, after thirty years of raising fabulous dogs, I’m #catmom to a handsome gray rescue named Riggins. He’s the ideal writing and pandemic companion, star of my Instagram, and paws-down winner of the Most Mellow Cat Award.
You can find me （and Riggins） online just about everywhere: @AmySueNathan. You can email me at [email protected], and you can sign up for my short but delightful monthly newsletter at www.amysuenathan.com.
If you’d like to supply chocolate as I write my next novel, let me know.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Sue Nathan is the author of five novels, including The Last Bathing Beauty and Left to Chance, and the founder of the award-winning Women’s Fiction Writers blog, named a Best Website for Writers by Writer’s Digest. Her stories and essays have appeared in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Parent, Writer’s Digest, and HuffPost, and online in the New York Times, among others. She is also a lover of gray cats, hot coffee, and bold lipsticks, and she has raised two extraordinary humans—her proudest accomplishment. Amy graduated from Temple University and lives and writes near Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.amysuenathan.com.