I had plans for the church. Bruce and I could scrub it clean and line the floor with colored pillows, hang lanterns from the ceiling and light candles in the eaves. We would have to keep the wedding small, so we could ferry guests out to the island. From the shore the parade of boats would look like a fisherman’s funeral, and sympathizers would gather on the beach to wave, and the low-flying seaplane would tip its wings left and right in salute.
I just wanted to be that bride.
Acknowledgments
To Claudia Ballard, for your faith in me and in short stories, your impeccable intuition, your generosity and patience, thank you. Katie Raissian, extraordinary editor who knows my mind, it has been a joy to bring this book to life under your deeply insightful guidance. Elisabeth Schmitz, your brilliant eye missed nothing, and your connection to Maine and passionate vision made it immediately clear Grove Atlantic was my home.
Thank you to the entire Grove Atlantic team for championing this debut with such care, and special thanks to Morgan Entrekin, Deb Seager, and John Mark Boling. Thanks also to Amy Hundley, Julia Berner-Tobin, Charles Woods, and the art department. And to Chris Russell, for drawing the island of my dreams.
I’m enormously grateful to the editors who first published these stories: Jonathan Lee, Brigid Hughes, and the fantastic team at A Public Space; Amie Barrodale and Rocco Castoro at Vice; David Daley at FiveChapters; and Christine Cote at Shanti Arts Publishing.
To Harry Bauld, always. You treated me like a writer from the beginning, and that made all the difference.
Thank you to Chris Fink, for kind guidance and creative community. To early readers, writers, and friends from The Putney School, Beloit College, and McSweeney’s, thank you. You know who you are, and you got me through. Special thanks to Francesca Abbate, Scott Russell Sanders, Linda Gregerson, Kevin Link, and Jade Daugherty.
I owe so much to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Deb West, Jan Zenisek, Kelly Smith, and Connie Brothers, you are saviors. Samantha Chang, Ethan Canin, Wells Tower, James Alan McPherson, and Marilynne Robinson, it was a gift to see your minds at work. Kevin Brockmeier and Charles Baxter, your teaching changed my life, and your ongoing support has helped me keep the faith.
For feeding me, dancing, making music, sharing your work and reading mine, thank you to so many workshoppers, and especially Ben Shattuck, Thessaly La Force, Daniel Cesca, Dina Nayeri, Devika Rege, Casey Walker, Stephen Narain, and Kiley McLaughlin (sister and mother of my heart). To Henry Finch, for everything. And to Thomas Gebremedhin, spot-on reader, advisor, healer.
To my Sorrento community and to my family, far and wide, your company has kept me grounded and given me joy. To Terry Noyes, remarkable uncle.
I will always be giving thanks for Sean Hershey, bosom friend and home base.
Finally, to my Dad and Kathleen, Mom and Bob. You’ve been with me every step of the way, believed in me, inspired me, and recognized me. I am so lucky to be your daughter. I love you all.