BooksBarbecue
Back The Ones We Burn
Chapters (93)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Part One: Skra: Sixty Days Remain
  5. PART ONE SKRA SIXTY DAYS REMAIN
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4 Two weeks later
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. Part Two: Monster: Twenty-Five Days Remain
  25. PART TWO MONSTER TWENTY-FIVE DAYS REMAIN
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. Part Three: Butcher: Six Days Remain
  40. PART THREE BUTCHER SIX DAYS REMAIN
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
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  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. Part Four: Bloodwinn: Coup Successful
  64. PART FOUR BLOODWINN COUP SUCCESSFUL
  65. 54
  66. 55
  67. 56
  68. 57
  69. 58
  70. 59
  71. 60
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  80. 69
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  84. 73
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  86. 75
  87. 76
  88. 77
  89. 78
  90. 79
  91. 80 EPILOGUE Three months later
  92. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  93. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I had no idea my author dreams were about to be put on hold; that what I would first pass off as a clumsy fall would evolve into a brain injury that would upend my entire world. I would quickly become homebound, unable to hold a regular conversation, read, write, work, or live any semblance of the “normal” life I’d taken for granted. It would be eight months before I could turn in a revision for The Ones We Burn—and it would be five months before I could write at all.

I’ll be honest: it’s a miracle this book made it into the world. I owe many, many thank-yous to many people—too many to recount here. But I’m certainly going to try.

I owe a massive debt of gratitude to Dr. Opada Alzohaili and the entire staff of the Metro Detroit Center for Endocrinology, who discovered after a year and a half of debilitating symptoms, that my concussion had damaged my pituitary gland to the point where it was no longer producing the growth hormone the brain requires to function. The injections I now take aren’t the most fun, but they also saved my life. I am forever grateful.

To David, my best friend, my biggest supporter, and my whole heart. Thank you for always believing in me, my dreams, and my books, despite your complete inability to read. Thank you for the pep talks; reality checks; for holding my hand in doctor’s appointments; tolerating my obsessive need to fit as many houseplants as possible in our home; and for the far too many, endless, “Oh my god it’s 3pm and you haven’t eaten” meal runs. Your love for our cats is borderline concerning and remains my favorite thing in the world. You make me kinder—and you make me braver. I love you so much.

I can never convey the depths of my thank-you to my editor, Alyza Liu, who waited with patience while I recovered to work on this book. Alyza saw the heart of Ranka’s story from the beginning, and her incisive editorial eye helped me carve closer to the soul of this strange, messy book about a girl raised to see cruelty as love. Alyza, I appreciate you so damn much. Now please go take a nap.