Acknowl­edg­ments in this chap­ter offer a heart­felt trib­ute to the numer­ous indi­vid­u­als whose sup­port, guid­ance, and encour­age­ment made the cre­ation of the nov­el pos­si­ble. The author begins by thank­ing Tom­my Orange, a per­son described as not just a band­mate but also a guid­ing force in the author’s jour­ney. The pro­found impact of Orange’s influ­ence is high­light­ed, as the author rec­og­nizes that the nov­el would not have been brought into being with­out his invalu­able con­tri­bu­tions, both in per­son­al and cre­ative capac­i­ties. This acknowl­edg­ment is not mere­ly a recog­ni­tion of his friend­ship but a recog­ni­tion of the vital role he played in shap­ing the very core of the book. In addi­tion, Lau­ren Groff is thanked for her per­cep­tive abil­i­ty to rec­og­nize the deep­er lay­ers with­in the author’s work, see­ing beyond the sur­face and iden­ti­fy­ing the essen­tial truths that dri­ve the nar­ra­tive. The author express­es deep grat­i­tude for Groff’s keen insight, which helped refine and ele­vate the over­all depth of the nov­el.

As the acknowl­edg­ments con­tin­ue, the author extends thanks to a vari­ety of indi­vid­u­als who played impor­tant roles through­out dif­fer­ent stages of the book’s devel­op­ment. Fig­ures like Dan Bar­den, Marie-Helene Berti­no, Ingrid Rojas Con­tr­eras, Paige Lewis, Anne Mead­ows, Angel Nafis, Ben Purk­ert, Arman Salem, and Clint Smith are rec­og­nized for their crit­i­cal sup­port. Their encour­age­ment, thought­ful feed­back, and con­tri­bu­tions, the author notes, were instru­men­tal not only in the evo­lu­tion of the book but also in enhanc­ing the author’s growth as a writer. These indi­vid­u­als offered more than just prac­ti­cal help; they pro­vid­ed emo­tion­al sup­port, love, and a sense of cama­raderie that for­ti­fied the author’s deter­mi­na­tion to keep going, even in dif­fi­cult moments. This sec­tion of the acknowl­edg­ments reveals how the sup­port of others—whether through cri­tique or sim­ple belief in the author’s ability—played a major role in ensur­ing the book’s even­tu­al suc­cess. The grat­i­tude for these indi­vid­u­als empha­sizes the impor­tance of com­mu­ni­ty and the col­lec­tive spir­it behind the cre­ative process.

The acknowl­edg­ments then shift to more spe­cif­ic, pro­fes­sion­al con­tri­bu­tions, with par­tic­u­lar recog­ni­tion giv­en to the author’s edi­tor, Jor­dan Pavlin. The author appre­ci­ates Pavlin’s excep­tion­al abil­i­ty to grasp the essence of their inten­tions, espe­cial­ly when those inten­tions were not entire­ly clear even to the author. Pavlin’s insight­ful direc­tion and her unwa­ver­ing belief in the project are rec­og­nized as vital to the book’s suc­cess. The author cred­its Pavlin for endors­ing the bold title, Mar­tyr!, and for being a dri­ving force behind the refine­ment of the nar­ra­tive. In addi­tion to Pavlin, Jacque­line Ko, the author’s agent, is also acknowl­edged for her trust, patience, and steady hand in guid­ing the author through the intri­ca­cies of the pub­lish­ing world. The author extends deep appre­ci­a­tion for Ko’s com­mit­ment and belief in the project, which helped to bring the sto­ry to life. Anoth­er impor­tant fig­ure, Tabia Yapp, is thanked for her care and sup­port over the years, offer­ing a con­stant source of per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al ground­ing. This sec­tion high­lights the impor­tance of hav­ing a trust­ed sup­port sys­tem, not only pro­fes­sion­al­ly but also per­son­al­ly, in nav­i­gat­ing the ups and downs of the cre­ative process. Men­tors, fam­i­ly mem­bers, and friends are also thanked, with the author empha­siz­ing that while dis­tinc­tions like these may seem mean­ing­ful, it is the unwa­ver­ing sup­port and shared com­mit­ment that tru­ly mat­ter in the end.

The acknowl­edg­ment clos­es with a deeply per­son­al thank-you to Paige Lewis, whose men­tor­ship and guid­ance have been invalu­able to the author. The author rec­og­nizes the unique per­spec­tive and wis­dom gained from shad­ow­ing Lewis, which con­tributed to the author’s growth and under­stand­ing of the world. This expe­ri­ence is described as a priv­i­lege, one that helped shape the author’s own approach to the world and to writ­ing. Final­ly, the author extends their sin­cere grat­i­tude to the read­er, acknowl­edg­ing the pre­cious gift of their time and atten­tion. Time, the author notes, is a finite resource, and the act of a read­er choos­ing to invest it in the book is an hon­or that is nev­er tak­en light­ly. The final words of the acknowl­edg­ment are a reaf­fir­ma­tion of grat­i­tude, as the author com­mits to hon­or­ing this gift by ensur­ing the reader’s expe­ri­ence is mean­ing­ful and worth their time. The rela­tion­ship between the author and the read­er is one of mutu­al respect, and this acknowl­edg­ment serves as a ges­ture of recog­ni­tion for the shared jour­ney ahead. By con­clud­ing with this acknowl­edg­ment, the author rein­forces the rec­i­p­ro­cal bond between them­selves and the read­er, ensur­ing that the con­nec­tion formed through the act of read­ing is both val­ued and appre­ci­at­ed.