by Dani Atkins
I am also very fortunate to have not one, but two, amazing agents without whom none of the incredible things that have happened to me over the last two years would have taken place. As ever Kate Burke and Diane Banks, you are beyond outstanding.
I remember back when I was at school (and we are talking a long time ago) that my English teacher always used to say, ‘Only write about what you know’. Good advice perhaps, but I haven’t entirely stuck to it! Instead I found people with the expert knowledge I was lacking to fill in the (many) blanks for me. Patiently, they explained everything I needed to know. I listened carefully, nodded a lot, and then began to write. But if, after all that, I’ve still managed to get things wrong, please accept my apologies, because the mistakes are entirely mine, not theirs. (This is why it is okay to let me write books, but you really don’t want me as your doctor!)
So to Hazel and Mark, thank you for not only being the most incredible friends in the world, but also for being at the end of my numerous email enquiries. Your combined help with all things skiing, avalanche, penthouse apartment, and heart-condition related was invaluable. (You’re still never going to get me on a pair of skis, though!)
Thanks to Rachel Boyd for her medical input and for pointing me in the right direction. I just know you’re going to make a great doctor, chiefly because you don’t laugh when someone asks you something totally ridiculous.
One of my favourite scenes is the one at The Rink at Rockefeller Center in New York. When my good friend Kim told me the story of how her daughter Faye and boyfriend Ben got engaged there during a Christmas trip, I just knew I was going to have to ‘borrow’ it for Charlotte and David. Thank you both for allowing me to share your romantic moment with everyone. And yes, you really can arrange to propose to someone on the ice.
On a more serious note, I would not have been able to tell this story effectively without the assistance of NHS Blood and Transplant. Their website was my daily reference point, from which I gained just a tiny insight into their remarkable achievements. I would particularly like to thank one very patient and knowledgeable specialist nurse, who spoke with me at length about transplant and organ donation, because – more than anything – I was desperate to get this right. I am in awe of all the dedicated medical professionals involved in these life-giving surgeries, and even more so, of the countless families who bravely donate their loved ones’ organs. I am not ashamed to admit that I was frequently in tears reading their very moving accounts.
I normally thank my immediate family for their love and support, but on this occasion, I would like to single out my son Luke for his particular help. Luke (like Ally) was a music student at university, he too plays the piano and the trumpet (he even depped a couple of times for Moonlighters). Ally’s musical talents were created as a sort of homage to Luke, the only member of our family who isn’t tone deaf. He got used to some pretty strange questions along the way, although perhaps none quite as surprising as, ‘If you were a woman, and a musician, what would you like to listen to while giving birth?’ That one got a single word email in reply: ‘What??!!!’
I cannot end without thanking Ralph, Kimberley and Luke for being my biggest fans and most honest critics. You encouraged me, when you were the only ones who ever read what I wrote. And you are still encouraging me, every single day. You are, quite simply, the best.
