Carry Me Home (24 page)

Acknowledgments

My thanks to Mr. C., for helping me discover the magic in books; to Jim L., who taught me the power of storytelling; and to Shirley L., who helped me realize the power of my own story.

My love and thanks to my family, who supported me in one way or another as I learned to write. To Kerry, who made it possible for me to do the work I love. To my daughter Shannon, who proved my words true even before I believed them myself—that we can realize our dreams if we work hard and believe even harder. To my son, Neil, who shared the computer with me with little complaint. To my daughter Natalie, who is the best editor a writer could have and diligently plucks commas from my manuscripts and fearlessly gives me her honest opinion. And to my brothers, who understand more than anyone what a challenge this climb was for me.

And thank you to my cherished friends. To Lynn, who taught me to stay resolute, and especially to Gerta and Vikas, who held on to my dream for me during periods in my life when I could not.

To Sophey, my littlest angel, whose name the wind will whisper to me until we meet again.

And last, but by no means least, thank you to my dear, supportive agent, Catherine Fowler, the gentle soul who lovingly took Earwig by the hand and led him to the warm heart of Jackie Cantor, an incredible editor in every respect. Many thanks to Jackie, to my publisher, Nita Taublib, and to all those at Bantam Dell who took Earwig and caringly tucked him between covers.

My heartfelt appreciation to all of you for helping me make my dream come true.

About the Author

SANDRA KRING
lives in the north woods of Wisconsin. She has run support groups and workshops for adult survivors of trauma.
Carry Me Home
is her first novel.

CARRY ME HOME

A Delta Trade Paperback / January 2005

Published by

Bantam Dell

A division of Random House, Inc.

New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2005 by Sandra Kring

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

Delta is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Visit our website at
www.bantamdell.com

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Kring, Sandra.

Carry me home / Sandra Kring.

p.  cm.

I: Teenage boys—Fiction.  II: World War, 1939–1945—Veterans—Fiction.  III: Brothers—Fiction.  IV: Wisconsin—Fiction.  V: Genre/Form: Historical fiction.  VI: Humorous fiction.  VII: Domestic fiction.

PS3611.R545 C37 2005

813/.6 22

2004056200

eISBN: 978-0-440-33524-5

v3.0