Walking with Abel (40 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Fulani say: “A person who asks questions is never lost.” My Fulfulde teacher, Monsieur Koulibaly, taught me this. I asked many questions of him, and of my big-hearted hosts, and also of the
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Afo Bocoum, Abdoul Aziz Diallo of Tabital Pulaaku, Dr. Lisbet Holtedahl at the University of Tromsø, and Dr. Doulaye Konaté, president of the Association of African Historians. Thank you for your generous mentorship.

The Fulani also say: “One man’s footsteps don’t make a path, and one tree doesn’t make a forest.” My families in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas accompanied me on this journey—some on foot, others with long-distance encouragement, a steady supply of poetry and succor, and indispensable help for my son, Fyodor. Your caring buoyed me. Charles Digges: you were my first reader and compelled me to write better. Becky Saletan, Katie Freeman, Maureen Klier, Anna Jardine, and Michelle Koufopoulos at Riverhead Books: your attention and your love of word continue to honor my work.

Paul: you believed in this book first. Mi yidiima.

—

Monsieur Koulibaly died after a long illness in the final weeks of 2013. I treasure all the lessons and all the bearings he gave me, and I sorrow over his death.

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