Huge thanks to Jennica Harper and Alexandra Raffe, who worked with me on adapting The Marrow Thieves for the screen and who taught me how to better serve my own stories in this new-to-me medium. Your mentorship and patience is so appreciated, and even more so, your true friendship.

I would not have a house to write from or a contract to fulfill without my amazing agents Dean Cooke and Rachel Letofsky. I also wouldn’t have anyone to give unasked-for Ted Talks to on conference calls, or to take me out for martinis as a distraction while you set my life in order.

For my kids, Jaycob, Wenzdae, and Lydea, and my husband, Shaun, thank you for following me around the world and through every risky venture. You guys are the best Apocalypse Survival Team a person could ask for. To my parents Hugh and Joanie, and my brother Jason, thanks for always having my back and loving me through everything.

All my stories are dedicated to my mere, my grandmother Edna Dusome, who gave me stories and love. This time, I’d like to also include my grandfather, Fred Dusome, a fisherman and guide on the Georgian Bay who made bad decisions and lived a life far from the stories and love of my grandmother. Because there is room for all of us—the beautiful and the broken. When you have a place that includes room for all of us, that’s when you know you are finally home. I welcome your bones home, Grandpa, and know that somewhere in them, there are dreams that no one could take.

CHERIE DIMALINE is an author from the Georgian Bay Métis Community. Her book The Marrow Thieves won the Governor General’s Literary Award and the prestigious Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature, among others. The Marrow Thieves was named a Book of the Year on numerous lists, including those from NPR, the School Library Journal, the New York Public Library, the Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire, and the CBC. It has been translated into several languages and continues to be a Canadian national bestseller. Cherie is currently adapting work for stage and film and working on new novels. Follow Cherie Dimaline online at cheriedimaline.com and @cherie_dimaline.