Walking Through Shadows (25 page)

First, with great pleasure, I thank Emily Heckman, my Best Friend Editor, whose magic pencil guided me, whose optimism uplifted me, and whose immense talent amazed me. Thanks to Lisa Bankoff, who, simply put, is the agent every writer dreams of; no one could be more grateful to her than I. To the gifted people at MacAdam/Cage, I offer my gratitude for their assistance and congratulate them for their creative vision.

Thank you to the writing teachers I have been so fortunate to meet: Jay Paul, so long ago at Christopher Newport College; Douglas Glover at Skidmore, who told me to quit my day job; Tim Gautreaux at Southeastern Louisiana University, my mentor and valued friend; and Nicholas Delbanco at the New York State Summer Writers Institute, whose friendship and talent are true blessings.

I thank those who gave my first stories an audience: Chester Hedgepeth at Maryland Review, Thomas Bonner at Xavier Review, and Polly Swafford at Potpourri; in England at Mildenhall Air Force base, the wonderful women of the wives’ clubs, the “gang at PA,” who served under the leadership of General Dwight Keahola, and to all of you military members, who are ever present in my writing and in my heart.

At Southeastern Louisiana University I received support and encouragement from Dr. Sue Parrill, Dr. Richard Louth, Dr. John Miller, and too many colleagues and students to name. Thanks to all of you.

Thank you to Picket Randall for sharing his boyhood story, while sitting beside me at Maggie’s graduation, and Dr. Bruce Belt for sharing his professional knowledge.

For phone calls for research, for passages read, for dreams shared, I thank Mandy and Joey Marshall, ever there, ever in my heart.

Thanks to the loveliest of readers, Amy Acosta, Wanda Trahan, and the members of the St. Tammany Writers Group: Katie Wainwright, Melanie Plesh, Karen Maceira, Dan Butcher, and Phillip Routh. With your various pencils and pens of red, blue, and black ink you give insightful comments and suggestions for which I continue to be greatly appreciative. I offer my heartfelt thanks to three other members: Andreé Cosby, Jan Chabreck, and Tana Bradley. You are the trio who sustain me through the darkest shadows and dance with me on the brightest days. Your friendship means more to me than I could ever say.

For the support, enthusiasm, and love that only family members can give, I thank James Forrest, Shirley Tate, Zora Marshall, and the rest of my many relatives, who love me for no good reason.

From birth to this moment, I am indebted to my dad, Ernest Forrest, the storyteller, and the most extraordinary man I will ever know.

Finally, thanks to wonder boy, Chess, for patiently watching the blinds opening and closing through so many months, and for his loving hugs and infectious laughter. Thanks to Angela for being the daughter every mother dreams of giving to the world, and to my amazing husband, lover, and friend, Butch, I say thank you for choosing to fly with me through this life.