by Sarah Tomp
Before reaching the board, she paused and waved her shammy toward the stands, where she knew a crowd was cheering her on, even if she couldn’t see their faces.
She stopped by her coaches for a last-minute instruction. They looked at each other, then back at her. “You know what to do.”
And she did. Everything she’d learned and endured was with her now. It was all up to her.
At the base of the ladder, Ria dried herself with her shammy. She checked the side of her leg, like she always did before a big dive. The cut from the quarry had left a purplish-blue scar. It looked like a river on a map.
She climbed, up, up, counting each step.
At the top she waited for the ref’s signal. There was no reason for Fear to be here.
She was ready.
Set. Breathe.
Four steps to her hurdle. Lift, and go.
She was in the air. Spinning. Too fast to breathe or see. Feeling lighter than she’d ever been. Gravity had been tricked. It hadn’t caught up yet. In this flash of a moment, anything could be imagined. Hope and faith and maybe kept her aloft between the board and water.
This was the easy part of impossible.
Acknowledgments
My father instilled in me a deep love and appreciation for the natural world, stories, and family. He taught me how to explore the outdoors, including underground caves. This story wouldn’t exist without him. Unfortunately, he is also the reason I learned early about unexpected loss. I was lucky that my brothers, Eddie and Andy, let me tag along as they pursued their own passion for caving, rock climbing, and more—even though I had a much closer relationship with Fear than they ever will. I’m also grateful for my mother, who allowed us to take risks and learn from our mistakes, and for my sister, Suzanne, who is the braver, smarter, and sweeter half of the Singing Sisters.
As for the actual book in your hands, many people helped bring it to light!
I feel lucky to be working with the fabulous team at HarperCollins; most especially my consistently amazing editor, Alyssa Miele. This story is stronger due to her thoughtful guidance and her ability to see what’s on the page as well as what’s buried beneath. Many thanks also to Alexandra Cooper and Rosemary Brosnan for their early and ongoing support. Sensitivity readers and copy editors provided additional and much appreciated help. The beautiful cover is due to the talents of the design team, including David DeWitt and the work of artist Samantha French.
This story greatly benefitted from the attention and encouragement of my agent, Catherine Drayton, and also Claire Friedman of Inkwell Management. Thank you both for your brilliant insights and for keeping the light on while I was lost and wandering.
Readers everywhere, I adore you. Readers who have sent me messages, reminding me that words have the power to connect—you have buoyed me far more than you know.
The community of Vermont College of Fine Arts continues to provide sparks of inspiration and motivation, most personally including my graduation class of Unreliable Narrators and the SoCal-VCFA retreat group. Jen White, you know which scene is all thanks to you!
Retreat gatherings made all the difference in writing this story. Sharry Wright, Cindy Faughnan, and Tamara Ellis Smith provided collective brain (and heart) power during our Plum Crazy Island time. They were with me at the start and during two of the times I “finished” this novel. My Wylld women, Kelly Bennett, Andrea Zimmerman, and Marty Graham fed my head, body, and soul in crucial ways.
My ongoing readers Andrea, Suzanne Santillan, Carolyn Marsden, Denise Harbison, and Janice Yuwiler have put up with me and my scribbles from dark places for a long time. Thank you for your wonderful (and oh so annoying) ability to see what I miss. Group-think at its finest!
Elizabeth Stranahan provided an unexpected beacon of light at a critical point of the journey.
Writer friends have provided encouragement like concert-style lighters in the dark. In particular, Darcy Woods offered cheers and peels of support for me and this story, even when that meant reading one random line at a time. I am blessed with way too many other friends to list them all, but special appreciation is owed to the fabulous and enthusiastic San Diego SCBWI community, as well as my colleagues and students at UCSD-Extension. Here’s where I slip in a sincere and loving pat of acknowledgment to Luna: dreamer, listener, loyal friend. As a dog she was never much of a reader, but she kept me company the many hours and miles it took to figure out this story. She is missed.
Sometimes it feels as though my day job working in public schools competes with my writing time, but kids like Ria and Cotton continually enlighten and inspire. The students and staff make me want to be a better human. I feel lucky and hopeful to see our future leaders as they learn and grow.
This story is a tribute to student athletes everywhere, but especially divers, who sacrifice comfort and safety for something far more stunning and impressive. You amaze me.
My own children have taken me on adventures far better than any I could have imagined—thank you for giving me so many reasons to cheer for you. And to my husband, Tom, thank you for making the impossible goal of happily ever after feel like it’s going to be easy.
About the Author
Photo credit Roxyanne Young
SARAH TOMP has an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She works in public schools and teaches creative writing classes for the University of California Extension. She lives in San Diego with her family where she loves walking her dog on the beach and in the canyons. She is also the author of My Best Everything, a novel for young adults. Learn more at www.sarahtomp.com.
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Books by Sarah Tomp
My Best Everything
The Easy Part of Impossible
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE EASY PART OF IMPOSSIBLE. Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Tomp. 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.
www.epicreads.com
Cover art © 2020 by Samantha French
Cover design by David DeWitt
Digital Edition APRIL 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-289830-2
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-289828-9
2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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