Thank you to my first writing mentors and dear friends Christina Moustakis, John Byrne, and Jennifer Fell Hayes for instilling in me a love of literature and writing, and for giving me the courage to pursue it as a vocation. Thank you to my Hopkins mentors—Richard Macksey, Stephen Dixon, Alice McDermott, and Tristan Davies—remarkable and passionate writers and thinkers who inspired and guided me both on the page and in life. Thank you to my literary mothers at City College: Linsey Abrams, who—with profound wisdom, care, and soul—nurtured this novel, and me, from the book’s inception all the way to publication; and Felicia Bonaparte, whose brilliant mind and generous guidance enriched the novel and my own understanding of it. Thank you to my CCNY family: David Groff, Frederic Tuten, Fred Reynolds, Harold Aram Veeser, and Rebecca Chace, who supported and mentored me in the classroom and beyond. Thank you to my CCNY peers for helping me to shape the novel, and to Robin Blair, Linsey Abrams, and Michelle Valladares for publishing an excerpt in Global City Review. Thank you to the Lippman and Himmelfarb family for believing in this novel early on and honoring it with the Doris Lippman Prize.
Thank you to the institutions and residencies that gave me the space, time, and wonderful communities of people among whom to work: the Ox-Bow Artists’ Residency, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the New York Public Library’s Wertheim Study. Thank you to the Institute for International Education and to the Italian Fulbright Commission, and especially to Paola Sartorio, for the gift of a year in which to search for saints and complete the novel amongst an incredible group of peers. Thank you to Florence University of the Arts for hosting me, and to Gabriella Ganugi, Grace Joh, Federico Cagnucci, Isabella Martini, and Nicoletta Salomon for supporting my project, for your friendship, and for making a home in Florence for me and Brendan. And thank you, Nicoletta, for being my Italian reader and editor! Thank you to Mark Roberts at the British Institute Library in Florence and to Piera Cusani and Cristina Mondadori at the Mondadori Foundation/WE–Women for EXPO for your invaluable partnership and support. Thank you to the Società Canottieri Firenze, a true oasis in Florence, for your generosity and friendship. Thank you to Scuola Lorenzo de’ Medici. And thank you to all of my friends in Florence for your kindness and for sharing your experiences and expertise.
Thank you to early readers Claire Messud, Katherine Howe, Krys Lee, Katie Freeman, and Jessica Anya Blau—to have the support of such talented writers and remarkable people is deeply meaningful to me. Thank you to dear, longtime friends Georgia Elrod, Anne Thell, and Beth Macri—my fellow Florentine adventurers whose input and friendship I treasure. Thank you to cherished friends Abby Santamaria and Vadim Shick for all of the help and encouragement. Thank you to Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall for being early readers and loving supporters of my writing. Thank you to my Words Without Borders family and my Cathedral family, and especially to Edith Thurber, my mentor in teaching and in life, for her guidance, wisdom, and friendship.
Thank you to the Chaffee and Lange families for all of the love, laughter, and support. And thank you to my grandparents, Charlotte and Hubert Chaffee, and Sophie and Paul Lange, who were storytellers, adventurers, and my heroes growing up. Thank you to the loving and spirited Kiely and Shannon clans for welcoming me into the fold with open arms. Thank you to Tom and Maryanne, Niall and Trish, little Bridget and Leo, and Grandma Jane for loving me, encouraging me, inspiring me, and for all of the wisdom and kindness you instilled in Brendan. I love you!
Thank you to my extraordinary parents, John Chaffee and Heide Lange, my first teachers and first readers. Mom and Dad—thank you for decades of boundless love and sage advice, and for teaching me the most important lessons of all: to build a life of meaning and purpose, to courageously pursue passions, and to love deeply. And thank you for showing me every day how it’s done. Thank you to my brother, Joshua Chaffee. My world grew exponentially when you arrived, Joshua. Thank you for being my confidant, my partner in crime, and my champion over many years, and for everything that you have taught me about strength, authenticity, and love. And thank you, Garima Prasai, for opening your heart to our family. Your warmth, intelligence, and beautiful spirit have been such a gift to us.
Thank you to my soul mate, my life partner, my husband Brendan Kiely. Almost a decade ago I walked into a writing workshop with a novel in mind—I had no idea that I was also walking into my future. Thank you for saying yes to that future, Brendan, for leaping with me then—and then again and again. Thank you for showing me how deep and how full life and love can be, and for being my muse, my rock, my home. Here’s to you, my love, and here’s to all of the writing, leaps, and loving to come.
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Florence in Ecstasy Page 27
