The Star Side of Bird Hill (23 page)

Shari Jackson Oyefeso, my sister and first friend, has been an unflagging supporter of me and my writing. I thank you and Ademola for being so kind and for making beautiful children, Aaron Adejola and Ella-Adeniké, who I hope to write books for one day. Neil and Kim Harvey, I'm so grateful to have you as my brother and sister-in-law; I can't wait to see who Emmanuel grows up to be.

My parents, Reginald and Sadie Jackson, have shown me how big their love is. Thank you is just a start.

My mother, Cheryl Rose, first unlocked the world of literature for me, for which I will always be grateful.

My grandmother Ruth Jackson taught me so much about life and generosity. I'm not sure this book would be here if she hadn't kicked me out of her room and back into the world.

Thank you to my grandmother Oriel Brewster, a woman of infinite wit. I pray she is looking down from above with a wry smile.

Thank you to my godmother, and number one fan, Evelyn Meade.

To my JA family—Shauna and Jason, Shav and Shamar, Deidre, and the extended clan—thank you for the jokes and inspiration.

To the Jackson family, my cousins Jeffrey, Nikki, Vincent, Rodney, Michelle, Michael, Maurice, Haniff, Marlon and Raquel, all my aunts and uncles, Tanty Chrissy, Vincent and Erin, Patrick, Cynthia and Morris, and Janet, I hope you see some of yourself and the summers we spent together in this book. Uncle Carlton, I'll never forget how much you taught me about loving and living with a big heart.

Friendship has made walking this path bearable by making it less lonely. I am deeply grateful for the literal and figurative shelter provided by my dear friends Jaynemarie Angbah, Vanessa Agard-Jones, Tisa Bryant, Sunu Chandy, Celeste Doaks, Shamaine Francis, Rhashidah Hilliard, Ronak Kapadia, Jason King, Thomas Lax, Brinda Maira and Chad Jones, Ayanda Mngadi, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Ariadne Papagapitos, Ra Ruiz Leon, Nicole Sealey, Shante Smalls, Glenn Solomon-Hill and Sara Whetstone, and Andrea Williams. I am grateful for all the little ones who were born around the same time as this book, especially my godchildren Tessa Pearl and Langston.

Thank you to the friends who helped me see Barbados anew. Lisa Harewood, your guidance shaped this book more than you'll ever take credit for, but I still want to “give Jack he jacket.” Sasha Archer, Tammy Jacyna, and Lisa Marshall, thank you for showing me a magical time in Bimshire. Arquita Cunningham, your resourcefulness allowed me a soft landing so I could do my work. Shout-out to my neighbors in Fairholne Gardens. Love to Mrs. Pauline Gittens and family, Beresford Yearwood, Marva Forde, and Ethnie Weekes. Sheena Rose, thank you for the gift of your artwork and your irrepressible spirit.

Shout-out to my Philly crew, Asali Solomon, Jos Duncan, Essence Ward, Pooja Mehta, Nina Ball, Anya Dennis, Tsitsi Ella Jaji, Deborah Thomas, John Jackson, and Duarte Geraldino, who helped me get to work and play during the last round of writing. A special thanks is in order to Jessica Lowenthal, Alli Katz, and
Andrew Beal at the University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writers House, and the fantastic Literary Boot Camp participants.

Thank you to my agent, Julia Masnik, for her unwavering belief in and tireless work on behalf of me and of this book. You had me when you summoned the specter of the shiv.

Many thanks are due to Andrea Walker. You set this dream in motion and brought me in from the literal and proverbial cold.

Thanks to the incredible team at Penguin Press for your manifold efforts in support of this book. First, deep gratitude to my editor, Virginia Smith-Younce, for her grace, eye, and care. Thanks to the entire Press staff, especially Sofia Groopman, William Carnes, Sarah Hutson, Juliana Kiyan, Matt Boyd, Caitlin O'Shaughnessy, Darren Haggar, Ted Gilley, Ann Godoff, and Scott Moyers for their work to bring this book to the world.

This book would not be what it is without all-star readers. I am especially grateful for the women of my writing group at Powder Keg, Sharon Lerner, Holly Morris, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, and Lorelei Williams, as well as Samantha Thornhill, Kamilah Aisha Moon, and Wura-Natasha Ogunji. Susannah Shive made me see this book's ending in an entirely new way. Mya Spalter's razor-sharp eye and magic whipped early drafts into shape, and got me righted on course.

I treasure the community of talented writers and friends at Iowa who brought light and levity to my time there, especially Susannah Shive, Chinelo Okparanta, Alexia Arthurs, Stephen Narain, Yaa Gyasi, and Nana Kweti. Sylvea Hollis and Reinaldo, thank you for keeping me in good humor and health. Marcus Burke and Mary Coats, thank you for your friendship and for making your home in Iowa City an extension of my own. Michael Hill and Sandra Sousa, thank you for the education and your kindness. Modei Akyea, thank you for the dances, meals, and laughs. Sydne Mahone, thank you for being an ecstatic reader and mentor, and reminding me that my destiny was intact.

Thank you to all my colleagues at the Russell Sage Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, especially Aixa Cintron-Velez, who looked the other way when
I started writing at work; and to Ben Rodriguez-Cubenas, Doreen Wang, Haki Abazi, Shenyu Belsky, Betsy Campbell, and Ben Shute. A special thanks to Carolyn Caddle-Steele and Leona Hewitt for their encouragement.

Thank you to all my writing teachers, especially Kimiko Hahn, Tyehimba Jess, ZZ Packer, Marilynne Robinson, Ayana Mathis, and Sam Chang, whose phone call changed everything. Special thanks to Connie Brothers, Deb West, Jan Zenisek, and Kelly Smith for your support when I was at the Workshop. And thanks to the writing communities where my words first formed—Cave Canem poetry workshops in New York City, the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center, and Tongues Afire writing workshop at the Audre Lorde Project.

I am grateful to the remarkable writers whose work informed this book, especially Toni Cade Bambara, Paule Marshall, Jamaica Kincaid, Edwidge Danticat, Tiphanie Yanique, Marlon James, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The financial and moral resources of several institutions underwrote the writing of this novel. The University of Iowa and the Iowa Writers' Workshop gave me the gift of three years to write, through the Maytag Fellowship for Excellence in Fiction, the Dean's Graduate Fellowship, and the Stanley Graduate Award for International Research. I wrote portions of this book during the ArtsEdge residency at the University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writers House. I am especially grateful for two residencies at Hedgebrook Writers Retreat, where this manuscript came to life, and for Amy Wheeler's cheerful leadership there. I'm grateful for support from the Point Foundation both in graduate school and beyond, especially from Vince Garcia and Scott Arneson.

And lastly, thank you and love to one-in-a-million Lola Flash. I couldn't have chosen a better companion and champion for this journey's last leg.

For anyone whom I've forgotten to mention here, but who knows that their story, mine, and this book's are deeply intertwined, thank you.

Looking for more?
Visit Penguin.com for more about this author and a complete list of their books.
Discover your next great read!