And to David Kaufelt, my Key West bro—who was in seventh grade at Hamilton when I was in eighth. How great to find a boy from long ago and become good friends in Key West fifty years later. I miss you.
To my family—my brother David, who spent twenty years in the Air Force and has never lost his fascination with planes. My daughter, Randy, who became a commercial airline pilot and was my go-to source for questions about how planes and navigation systems work. My cousin Josh Rosenfeld. To Larry, Amanda and Jim, and to Elliot. All of them patient, encouraging and loving. At the end of the day, these are the people who know me best and nonetheless still care about me.
To my assistants in Key West, Patricia Bollinger, Joanne Brennan and Marianne Noordermeer—I couldn’t do any of it without you.
And thanks to so many at Knopf, but especially: the production and design team—Maria Massey, Cassandra Pappas and Kelly Blair, who designed a jacket that captures both the time and the story; Anke Steinecke, for her legal expertise and Ruthie Reisner, for dedication above and beyond the call of duty. And to the publicity and marketing group who make it sound like fun (even though I know better)—Paul Bogaards, Josefine Kals, Danielle Plafsky, Nicholas Latimer and Maggie Southard.
Thank you to Sonny Mehta, who was my publisher in London in the seventies. We meet again and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
To my agent, Suzanne Gluck at WME, who waited and waited, never pushing (and yes, she’s really a fabulous agent).
And to my smart, funny, generous editor, Carole Baron. For five years we chatted about the book I was writing (though I wouldn’t show it to her or anyone) over long breakfasts at Sarabeth’s whenever I was in New York. We’d reminisce about the fifties, the Jewish gangsters our fathers knew, the music we danced to, what we wore, what we read, what was going on in our worlds. This was truly a collaborative effort. Carole and I worked for nine months after I finally sent her the manuscript. Without her, I’m not sure I would have finished this book. For this one and for Summer Sisters, thank you, Carole. You are my sister.
Finally, to my loving, supportive husband, who has been there for me for thirty-five years. When the deadline loomed, he “stepped up to the plate” and said, I can be your Henry Ammerman. He took the stories in my research notebook and reworked them. I was a tough city editor, but he came through every time, always in good humor. Without his months of work, his dedication to Henry, the story and to me, you probably wouldn’t be reading this book for another five years, if then. He is my “Henry” and my everything else. How lucky I am to have him in my life.
—JUDY BLUME
Key West
February 22, 2015
P.S. from “Henry Ammerman”—I’d like to throw in a thanks to what William Gibson calls the “global instantaneous memory prosthesis.” When you need it quick the Internet knows, like The Shadow from the radio show of our youth.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JUDY BLUME is one of America’s most beloved authors. She grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was a teenager in 1952 when the real events in this book took place. She has written books for all ages. Her twenty-eight previous titles include Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Forever and Summer Sisters. Her books have sold more than eighty-five million copies in thirty-two languages. She is a champion of intellectual freedom, working with the National Coalition Against Censorship in support of writers, teachers, librarians and students. In 2004, Blume was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She lives in Key West and New York City.
Follow @JudyBlume on Twitter.
Visit her online at JudyBlume.com/Unlikely.