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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Some Words of Thanks …
There are so many people to thank. First and foremost, you, my friend. Yes, you. The one holding this book. Because chances are, if you’ve read all the way to here, you have experienced in your own life some piece of Hank or Zoe’s story. And we’re each just doing the best we can, right?
Thank you to my amazing agent, Mollie Glick at CAA, for always pushing me to tell deeper truths. Thank you to my awesome editor, Joy Peskin at Farrar Straus Giroux, for making me dare. Thank you to Nicholas Henderson, Elizabeth Lee, Joy Fowlkes, Julie Flanagan, Hayley Jozwiak, and Chandra Wohleber.
Thank you to my faithful readers and friends—Katie, Brian, Tori, Jenny, Marcy, Roger, Kimmi, Anna, Tara, Cynthia, Marvi, Stacey, Sandra, Joselin. Thank you to the powerful women who have been with me from kindergarten—Gabra, Sara, and Sam. And Indy, who is already more woman than I’ll ever be. Thank you to Mrs. Tobey and the lady in the gym. Thank you to the incredible staff at Highland Park Eating Disorders Clinic, especially Ducky. Thank you to Melanie for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and serving me grilled cheese, whether I could eat it or not. Thank you to Alysia Reiner and Sarah Gerard for their brutal and beautiful honesty. Thank you to Pema Chödrön and Thich Nhat Hanh and Boppy and CK. Thank you to Peggy for her incredible patience and lentil soup.
Thank you to Ari and the Teenage FBI for letting me pepper them with questions.
Thank you to Sue Shapiro for her tireless motivation. Thank you to Jecca Eve, Betsy B., EmSims, and Sam A. for keeping me honest. Thank you to Tara and Sharon for beating me up. Thank you to TS. You know who you are, I hope.
Thank you to my fantastic husband, Jason, and the intervention surprise party he orchestrated. And thank you to our three extraordinary children—Sonya, Zev, and Samson—who remind me that this life is fragile and magnificent and our scars make us stronger.
Thank you.
About the Author
Abby Sher is a writer and performer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Self, Jane, Elle, and Redbook. She is also the author of All the Ways the World Can End (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers); Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery; Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn’t Stop Praying; and Kissing Snowflakes. Abby has written and performed for the Second City in Chicago and the Upright Citizens Brigade and Magnet Theater in New York. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Visit abby-sher.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
CHAPTER 1: pepe le meowsers
CHAPTER 2: most blustiferous, indeed
CHAPTER 3: spinal freedom
CHAPTER 4: missing diana gaia
CHAPTER 5: laughing on the banks of a fjord
CHAPTER 6: fpoe
CHAPTER 7: commuter’s paradise
CHAPTER 8: bananas and war
CHAPTER 10: the student, the teacher, and me
CHAPTER 11: backseat zombie slayer
CHAPTER 12: booty camp 101
CHAPTER 13: this much
CHAPTER 14: red dye #5
CHAPTER 15: sycamore estates
CHAPTER 16: purple hearts
CHAPTER 17: every creature
CHAPTER 18: writing the script
CHAPTER 19: the cleanup song
CHAPTER 20: prelude in c
CHAPTER 21: the flight of the mourning doves
RESOURCES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2020 by Abby Sher
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
A part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271
fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Control Number: 2018057872
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First hardcover edition, 2020
eBook edition, February 2020
eISBN 978-0-374-30702-8