In the acknowl­edge­ments, the author extends pro­found grat­i­tude to the many indi­vid­u­als, orga­ni­za­tions, and com­mu­ni­ties that con­tributed to the devel­op­ment of this book. Bring­ing this sto­ry to life required exten­sive research, guid­ance, and cre­ative insight, and it would not have been pos­si­ble with­out the gen­eros­i­ty of those who shared their knowl­edge and expe­ri­ences. The author rec­og­nizes that writ­ing is nev­er a soli­tary act—it is a col­lab­o­ra­tive process shaped by the voic­es, encour­age­ment, and exper­tise of oth­ers. This book, deeply root­ed in his­to­ry and human expe­ri­ence, is the result of the col­lec­tive efforts of many, and their con­tri­bu­tions deserve recog­ni­tion.

A spe­cial thank you is extend­ed to Bar­bara Napi­er and the won­der­ful com­mu­ni­ty at Snug Hol­low in Irvine, Ken­tucky. Their kind­ness, hos­pi­tal­i­ty, and deep knowl­edge of the region helped shape the novel’s sense of place, pro­vid­ing an authen­tic back­drop for the horse­back librar­i­ans’ jour­ney. Olivia Knuck­les, in par­tic­u­lar, played an impor­tant role in offer­ing insights and per­son­al sto­ries that enriched the char­ac­ters and brought the nar­ra­tive to life. The time spent in these rur­al land­scapes offered a first­hand look at the endur­ing spir­it and resilience of the peo­ple who once tra­versed these remote areas, deliv­er­ing books and knowl­edge to those who need­ed them most.

The author also acknowl­edges the invalu­able assis­tance of Whis­per Val­ley Trails, where prac­ti­cal expe­ri­ences on horse­back con­tributed to a more accu­rate depic­tion of the rugged ter­rain and chal­lenges faced by the librar­i­ans. Under­stand­ing the phys­i­cal demands of nav­i­gat­ing the Cum­ber­land Moun­tains on horse­back was essen­tial in ensur­ing that every jour­ney in the book felt vivid and real­is­tic. The oppor­tu­ni­ty to expe­ri­ence these con­di­tions first­hand helped rein­force the impor­tance of these women’s work, mak­ing their per­se­ver­ance and ded­i­ca­tion even more inspir­ing.

Deep appre­ci­a­tion is giv­en to the edi­to­r­i­al teams at Pen­guin Michael Joseph in the UK, Pamela Dor­man Books in the US, and Rowohlt in Ger­many. Their belief in this book and its themes made its pub­li­ca­tion pos­si­ble, and their guid­ance helped refine the nar­ra­tive into its final form. A heart­felt thank you is also extend­ed to Mon­u­men­tal Pic­tures, whose enthu­si­asm and vision have played a cru­cial role in bring­ing this sto­ry beyond the pages, mak­ing it acces­si­ble to even more audi­ences through visu­al sto­ry­telling.

The Ken­tucky Tourist Board and the res­i­dents of Lee and Estill Coun­ties also deserve recog­ni­tion for their gen­eros­i­ty in shar­ing their his­to­ry and knowl­edge. Their insights into the cul­tur­al and his­tor­i­cal back­drop of the region were invalu­able in shap­ing the set­ting of the nov­el. The peo­ple of these com­mu­ni­ties have pre­served the mem­o­ry of the past through their sto­ries, ensur­ing that the lega­cy of the horse­back librar­i­ans and their con­tri­bu­tions are nev­er for­got­ten. Their will­ing­ness to engage with this project made it all the more mean­ing­ful, allow­ing the author to paint a more com­plete pic­ture of life in rur­al Ken­tucky dur­ing the Great Depres­sion.

Beyond pro­fes­sion­al col­lab­o­ra­tions, the author express­es sin­cere appre­ci­a­tion for the friends who offered sup­port, laugh­ter, and encour­age­ment through­out the writ­ing process. Writ­ing can be an iso­lat­ing endeav­or, but the kind­ness of those who pro­vid­ed com­pan­ion­ship, lis­tened to ideas, and offered moti­va­tion made the jour­ney far more ful­fill­ing. These per­son­al con­nec­tions served as a reminder of the impor­tance of com­mu­ni­ty, both in sto­ry­telling and in life.

Final­ly, the deep­est grat­i­tude is reserved for the author’s family—Jim Moyes, Lizzie, Bri­an Sanders, Charles, Sask­ia, Har­ry, and Lockie—who pro­vid­ed unwa­ver­ing encour­age­ment and sup­port. Their patience, love, and belief in the project were instru­men­tal in see­ing it through to com­ple­tion. Writ­ing a book requires immense ded­i­ca­tion and focus, and their under­stand­ing and kind­ness allowed the author the space to ful­ly engage with the cre­ative process.

This book is not sim­ply a prod­uct of one per­son­’s effort but a shared achieve­ment built on the con­tri­bu­tions of many. The author is immense­ly grate­ful for the peo­ple who played a role in shap­ing this nov­el, whether through his­tor­i­cal knowl­edge, pro­fes­sion­al guid­ance, or per­son­al sup­port. Their involve­ment has left an indeli­ble mark on the work, and this acknowl­edg­ment serves as a trib­ute to their gen­eros­i­ty, pas­sion, and shared com­mit­ment to keep­ing impor­tant sto­ries alive.