Baby Steps (32 page)

Thank you to my first readers—Dad, Jessica, Aunt Laurie, Aunt Nancy, Dan Abrams, Lash Fery, Lilian Acientuno, and Jennifer Love Hewitt—for giving me your early support. It gave me courage and empowered me. It was like lightning in a bottle.

And finally my most heartfelt thanks to Ron, with immense love and gratitude, for trusting me to tell our family story to the world. Your faith in me gave me the necessary courage.

Elisabeth Röhm

I write a lot of books and every one of them is special in its own way, but this one holds a particularly precious place in my heart because it afforded me the opportunity to meet, get to know, and learn to love Elisabeth Röhm. Lis, you are not just an inspiration. You are a remarkable
and unique soul with exactly the kind of eloquent intelligence, emotional wisdom, and generosity with the details of your life that every writer dreams about when imagining the ideal writing partner. I hope our working and personal relationship is long and fruitful.

Thanks also to Zach Schisgal for bringing me this beautiful project, to Renee Sedlier for thoroughly insightful and simultaneously respectful editing (so rare!), and to my family. Angus and Emmett, you remind me every day why I wanted to become a mother. Ben, you are exactly the partner I need.

Eve Adamson