The Ethan I Was Before
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•Stay informed and raise awareness among family and friends! Red wolves need people who are passionate about them to keep up the fight for their survival.
Acknowledgments
I owe thanks first and foremost to my entire family for supporting this dream of mine.
Especially to my grandparents, who always had a lap or a knee free and the time to tell me a tale, for first teaching me the art of spinning a great yarn. And to my uncle Bob, who remembers some of their stories and keeps them alive, for continuing my education. I hope this book does them all proud.
To my brother, Ed, for his strength in the face of hardship, and for his loyalty and love.
To Mom, who typed up my very first story and has read (and edited) almost everything I have written since (including these acknowledgments), for being my lifelong inspiration, for raising me to understand the power of words, and for teaching me how to wield them. To Dad, who didn’t yell at me for taking Children’s Literature instead of Econ 101 like I promised, for teaching me how to drive at nine, for showing me the courage it takes to follow your dreams, and for encouraging me to follow mine. I will always be grateful to them for being my first and forever fans.
To my agents, Polly Nolan and Sarah Davies, who welcomed me to Greenhouse with open arms, for having faith in me, and for loving this book as much as I do. I count myself very lucky to have had their guidance throughout the surreal and often befuddling experience of publishing my first novel.
To Alyson Day and her team at HarperCollins and Jessica Tarrant and the Orchard crew, for their staggering enthusiasm for The Ethan I Was Before. The hard work and passion they have poured into it have shaped this book into a better one than I ever knew I could write.
To my many early readers for their keen eyes and open hearts: Mom, Dad, Aki, Becca AbuRakia-Einhorn, Leah Henderson, Ritva Laakso, Kristin McDonnell, Molly Middaugh, and Sunita Stewart. To Katie McCabe, who went above and beyond to support a writer she had never met, to Han Nolan, who knew from reading three chapters exactly what this book was missing, and to my Hollins tutorial group, Amy Debevoise, Deanna Kubota, Anne McFatter Johe, and Andria Tran, whose unbelievably insightful critiques helped me transform a rough draft into an actual novel, I am especially grateful.
I have had the benefit of working with some incredible writing mentors along the way, from my summers at Duke Young Writers’ Camp to my time as an undergraduate at Pomona College and Cambridge University, and throughout my graduate studies at Hollins University. I am indebted to these educators, who managed to build my confidence while showing me how to hone my craft. In particular, Barry Yeoman, Helen Macdonald, and Hillary Homzie have devoted much time and energy over the years to helping me on my way. I also owe especial thanks to Douglas Smith, my first writing teacher, for telling me at the tender age of sixteen that he would one day stand in a bookstore and read from one of my books. And to the extraordinary Claudia Mills, for providing more wisdom, support, and encouragement than I’d any right to ask for.
As a writer, I don’t so much create stories as collect them with hopes that one day I may be able to repurpose or reinvent them. Just as Coralee borrows her stories from Nima, so I pinched a few from friends and family. I am grateful to Becca AbuRakia-Einhorn, to Inga Warrick, and to my grandmother Betty Standish (who really did have a pet alligator named Tiny) for sharing their stories with me and with Coralee.
Certainly, this book was also inspired by my experiences working with the students at Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Washington, DC. I was privileged to have worked with them, and I hope that Coralee and Ethan capture some of the perseverance, kindness, bravery, and resilience that they exuded.
Finally, there are two people whose support was indispensable in the writing of this book and without whom it would never have seen the light of day. From the first time she read the manuscript, Nancy Ruth Patterson has been Ethan’s biggest advocate and has cared for this story like her own. There aren’t enough words to thank her for her unwavering passion for this book and for her enduring faith in my ability as a writer, which inspired and continues to inspire me to reach new heights.
Last and most importantly, my husband, Aki, supported me in every conceivable way through the writing of this novel and through all the manuscripts that came before it. Thank you for holding my hand every step of this journey, on good days and bad, and for your unshakable confidence in me, which in turn gave me the confidence to write Ethan. Without you, I would be lost.
About the Author
Photo by Aki Laakso
ALI STANDISH grew up in North Carolina and spent several years as an educator in the Washington, DC, public school system. She has an MFA in children’s writing from Hollins University and an MPhil in children’s literature from the University of Cambridge. She lives with her Finnish husband and rescue dog. The Ethan I Was Before is her debut novel. You can visit her online at www.alistandish.com and @AliStandish on Twitter.
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Credits
Cover art © 2017 by Matt Saunders
Cover design by Katie Fitch
Copyright
THE ETHAN I WAS BEFORE. Copyright © 2017 by Alice Standish. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-243338-1 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition © January 2017 ISBN 9780062433404
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FIRST EDITION
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