Acknowledgements
No book is written completely alone, and in this section, we would like to individually and collectively thank people who played especially important roles in the formation of this arts-based research project and completed novel.
To begin, as the creator of the seeds that became this story and the first author on the finished book, I, Xan Nowakowski, would especially like to offer the following thanks to people who played major roles in bringing this work to fruition.
Specifically, like all of the Rendell kids, I had the good fortune to grow up with parents who encouraged me to work for a more just world, and to show compassion for others whose lives differed from my own. And like Roy Lee, I had the equally wonderful fortune of parents who invested heavily in my education. I am deeply grateful for my parents, Nancy Hayes and Richard Nowakowski, for all those years of love and unflagging support. Your faith in me, and your willingness to back it up with opportunities to learn, made me the person I am today. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the innumerable gifts you have given me, and for giving me the chance to live in the first place. You are the best family I could ever have asked for.
I have also been fortunate to have people in my life – and one in particular – who have taught me the true meaning of unconditional love between friends. Like so many of the characters in this novel, I have pondered the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and courage, and had these qualities tested by times of great sorrow. If I have learned one thing about true friendship, it is that people can rise up stronger from the challenges they face together, even or perhaps especially when those challenges bring us into conflict with one another. So, I dedicate a piece of this book likewise to my dearest friend, Matthew Kirshner. Your steadfast love has sustained me through hardship and made me a better person.
And of course, to my coauthor and collaborator in all things creative and otherwise, J. Thank you for helping me bring the Rendell family and their story to life. Thank you for always taking an interest in the world inside my head. And thank you for always believing in everything I set out to do in the world outside of it. I love you.
Similarly, as the second author lucky enough to receive the early ideas that became this collaborative novel, I, J.E. Sumerau would like to express my gratitude to a few people who played especially important roles in this process.
First and foremost, I always feel the strongest urge to thank Xan for everything they do to, like many characters here do for Carina, bring me out of my shell and to life. They provided the confidence I needed to write my first novel, and have walked with me as the greatest friend, lover, partner, and hero I could have dreamed into life in the best and worst moments, and everything I do owes much to their influence, which feels even more poignant talking about a book that only exists because they shared their story idea and notes with me in the first place. Thank you, Xan, I love you.
As is also always the case in my work, I am deeply indebted to the wonderful friendships, the other loves of my life, that speak to and through me as I write. Thank you to Lain Mathers for always helping me find the creative spark, and for sharing with me the types of support that cannot be put into words. Thank you to Eve Haydt for always listening to my ideas, even when they’re half baked at best, and reading with a willingness to always call out anything that might be off or perfect equally. Thank you to Brandy Garner for past and present instructions on this writing craft we love and share and all the other ways you played such an incredible role in who I am today.
Alongside individual thanks, as an authorship team, we want to collectively express tremendous thanks to Patricia Leavy, Peter de Liefde, Jolanda Karada, Paul Chambers, Robert van Gameren, Edwin Bakker, and everyone else at Sense Publishers and the Social Fictions series for your faith in us, your willingness to support creativity, and your invaluable guidance. We would also like to especially thank Shalen Lowell for your considerable assistance and support. We cannot overstate how much the efforts and support of all you mean to us.
We would also like to thank the oyster harvesters and farmers working tirelessly for our environment and the artists, journalists, historians, and others who work to capture and share their voices and experiences. We spent time with some of these people and their works as well as others along the forgotten coast over the years and especially as tourists while working on the early notes for this book, and met tremendous, passionate people who do so much for our earth and their communities that often receives very little attention more broadly. We are indebted to these people as folks who share an environment and love for the waterways and forests as well as researchers and artists seeking to capture complexities of contemporary social life and experience.
We would also like to thank someone we have never met. This novel was written while we were listening to the works of Bruce Springsteen nonstop, and his records provided a soundtrack for the writing, editing, and revision of the work.
Finally, this novel would not be possible without the years of research we have done on sexualities, gender, religion, and health. We have had the privilege of interviewing and observing so many wonderful people formally and informally over the years for this and other projects, and many of their experiences find voice throughout this novel. We would thus like to thank all of them for sharing their stories with researchers and artists like us.