grateful. To Kate, Courtney, Julia, and Monique, thank you for helping me write about people different from myself. It is a tall order that I take on humbly and it helps so much to have you by my side. To the book bloggers who write and tweet and snap photos all in the effort of telling people about my work, you are the reason I can continue to do what I do. And I have to give it up to Natasha Minoso and Vilma Gonzalez for just straight killin’ it. To the Reid and Hanes families, thank you for supporting me, for cheering the loudest, and for always being there when I need you. To my mother, Mindy, thank you for being proud of this book and always so eager to read anything I write. To my brother, Jake, thank you for seeing me the way I want to be seen, for understanding what I’m trying to do at such a deep level, and for keeping me sane. To the one and only Alex Jenkins Reid: Thank you for understanding why this book was so important to me and for being so znto it. But more important, thank you for being the kind of man who encourages me to shout louder, dream bigger, and take less shit. Thank you for never making me feel as if I should make myself smaller to make anyone else feel better. It brings me an absolutely unparalleled amount of pride and joy to know that our daughter is growing up with a father who will stick by her side no matter who she is, who will show her how she should expect to be treated by modeling it for her. Evelyn did not have that. I did not have that. But she will. Because of you. And lastly, to my baby girl. You were teeny teeny tiny—I believe the size of half the period on the end of this sentence—when I started writing this book. And when I finished it, you were mere days away from making your entrance. You were with me every step of the way. I suspect it was, in no small part, you who gave me the strength to write it. I promise that I will repay the favor by loving you unconditionally and accepting you always, so that you feel strong enough and safe enough to do anything you set your mind to. Evelyn would want that for you. She would say, “Lilah, go out there, be kind, and grab what you want out of this world with both hands.” Well, she might not have put as big an emphasis on being kind. But as your mother, I must insist.