Acknowledgments

The book begins with a heart­felt acknowl­edg­ments sec­tion, where the author express­es grat­i­tude to the many indi­vid­u­als who con­tributed to its devel­op­ment. Spe­cial empha­sis is placed on a diverse group of sup­port­ers whose efforts, both large and small, were cru­cial to bring­ing the book to fruition. Among these are close friends from Zürich, who not only offered feed­back on ear­ly drafts but also pro­vid­ed the much-need­ed emo­tion­al encour­age­ment and com­pan­ion­ship to over­come the chal­lenges of writ­ing. Their sin­cer­i­ty and sup­port are com­mend­ed, as they played a piv­otal role in refin­ing the ini­tial stages of the man­u­script into a more pol­ished and impact­ful work.

The acknowl­edg­ment extends to the online writ­ing com­mu­ni­ty, a group of peers who pro­vid­ed crit­i­cal feed­back and con­struc­tive advice through count­less dis­cus­sions about sto­ry­telling, struc­ture, and style. Their input served as a vir­tu­al writer’s room, a space for col­lab­o­ra­tion that bridged phys­i­cal dis­tance with shared pas­sion. The author also pays trib­ute to the pro­fes­sion­als at the Cur­tis Brown agency, sin­gling out Felic­i­ty Blunt for her unwa­ver­ing guid­ance, insight, and belief in the project. Her influ­ence is described as a cor­ner­stone of the book’s jour­ney, under­scor­ing the impor­tance of a strong and sup­port­ive agent-author rela­tion­ship.

Addi­tion­al­ly, the author express­es grat­i­tude toward the pub­lish­ing team, includ­ing edi­tors, mar­keters, pub­li­cists, and cov­er design­ers, whose col­lec­tive exper­tise brought the book to life in its final form. This acknowl­edg­ment serves as a reminder that a book’s cre­ation is far from a soli­tary endeav­or; it is the prod­uct of a ded­i­cat­ed team work­ing behind the scenes. Spe­cial thanks are giv­en to the rights man­age­ment team and those respon­si­ble for the phys­i­cal pro­duc­tion of the book, indi­vid­u­als who often remain in the back­ground but whose con­tri­bu­tions are essen­tial to its suc­cess.

On the sci­en­tif­ic front, the author offers deep appre­ci­a­tion to Dr. Mary Koto and Dr. Beth Mundy for their assis­tance in ensur­ing the book’s sci­en­tif­ic ele­ments were accu­rate and ground­ed in fact. Their con­tri­bu­tions not only lent cred­i­bil­i­ty to the nar­ra­tive but also added depth and rich­ness to its themes. These acknowl­edg­ments reflect the author’s com­mit­ment to authen­tic­i­ty and pre­ci­sion, qual­i­ties that enhance the story’s res­o­nance with read­ers.

The acknowl­edg­ment sec­tion also takes a deeply per­son­al turn, with the author thank­ing their row­ing team­mates for pro­vid­ing a sense of com­mu­ni­ty and bal­ance amid the demands of writ­ing. The author shares how these team­mates offered moments of joy, dis­trac­tion, and moti­va­tion, help­ing to sus­tain their ener­gy and focus dur­ing chal­leng­ing times. Sim­i­lar­ly, the author rec­og­nizes indi­vid­u­als who offered emo­tion­al sup­port, whether through late-night con­ver­sa­tions, shared laugh­ter, or sim­ply being present dur­ing moments of doubt.

Toward the con­clu­sion, the author express­es pro­found grat­i­tude to their inner cir­cle, nam­ing Sophie, Zoë, and David as inte­gral fig­ures in their life and work. These indi­vid­u­als are praised not only for their spe­cif­ic con­tri­bu­tions to the book but also for the uncon­di­tion­al love and sup­port they pro­vid­ed through­out the process. The acknowl­edg­ment clos­es on a bit­ter­sweet note, reflect­ing on the absence of the author’s par­ents and Helen Mar­tin. Their impact is felt deeply, and the author’s words con­vey a mix of pride, sad­ness, and long­ing as they imag­ine how these loved ones might have shared in the joy of this accom­plish­ment.

The acknowl­edg­ment is a tes­ta­ment to the col­lab­o­ra­tive and rela­tion­al nature of cre­at­ing a book. It empha­sizes that the work is not sim­ply the result of one person’s efforts but a col­lec­tive achieve­ment shaped by count­less hands, minds, and hearts. By open­ing with such a per­son­al and com­pre­hen­sive acknowl­edg­ment, the author sets the tone for the nar­ra­tive that fol­lows, one root­ed in con­nec­tion, grat­i­tude, and the recog­ni­tion of the many influ­ences that shape our sto­ries. Through this extend­ed reflec­tion, the read­er is invit­ed to con­sid­er the pro­found role that com­mu­ni­ty, sup­port, and shared expe­ri­ence play in both cre­ative endeav­ors and life itself.