THERE’S ONLY ONE PAGE from Sarat Chestnut’s diaries I didn’t burn. It’s the first page of the first book. I carry it in my wallet, and every now and then I read the opening lines.
When I was young, I lived with my parents and my brother and my sister in a small house by the Mississippi Sea.
I was happy then.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe Anna Mehler Paperny, Anne McDermid, and Sonny Mehta a debt I can never repay. They are the reason this book exists.
For their support during the two years it took to complete this novel, and more so for their friendship, I am grateful to Donald Richardson, Wesley Fok, Carolyn Smart, Daniel Dagris, Martin Lendahls, Missy Ladygo, and Isaac Pendergrass.
At Knopf, Edward Kastenmeier, Tim O’Connell, and Andrew Ridker guided this project through the editing process with patience and care. I’m a better writer for having worked with them. I am also indebted to Suzanne Smith, Leslie Levine, and Nicholas Latimer for their kindness, skill, and enthusiasm.
And to my mother, Nivin, the bravest, kindest human being I know. Whatever courage I possess is hers, whatever goodness I possess is hers.
And to Theresa, always, and for so, so much.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Omar El Akkad was born in Cairo, Egypt, and grew up in Doha, Qatar, before moving to Canada. He worked as a journalist at The Globe and Mail, and his coverage of a 2006 terror plot earned him a National Newspaper Award for Investigative Reporting (Canada). His other journalistic work includes dispatches from the NATO-led war in Afghanistan, the military trials at Guantánamo Bay, the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt, and the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson, Missouri. He now lives with his wife in the woods just south of Portland, Oregon.