Thank you to my MFA thesis advisors at Cornell University, John Robert Lennon and Stephanie Vaughn, under whose early guidance this book first took shape and steadily grew. Thank you, Stephanie, for insisting I change the book’s original title, Biophilia, which was truly awful. This title is much better. And thank you so much to John, who first gave me the encouragement to consider the book as more than just a thesis, and who devoted so much time to giving me incisive and positive comments on that first nascent manuscript, and for everything else he’s done over the years.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my editor, Leah Spann, whose patience and efficiency and kindness continually astounds me. Thank you for believing in this book and its vision. Thank you to the entire DAW team, whose tireless efforts brought this book through its long journey to publication: thank you to Joshua Starr, Lindsay Ribar, Alexis Nixon, Jessica Plummer, Adam Auerbach, Katie Anderson, Betsy Wollheim, and Sheila Gilbert.

I am lucky to be surrounded by incredible family and friends who have always been enthusiastic about my weird desire to just write books. Their unconditional support bolstered me to this finish line. Thank you to my expansive and loving Nguyen family, across the country and across the world; your endless pride and excitement means more than I can say. To my cousins, Tim, Andrew, Ethan, Brandon, Alex, Ryan, Annie, and Tony: thanks for enduring all this talk about the book, and for letting me retreat every summer to write bits of it at a time, and for being the best family I could ask for. To all my aunts and uncles, and to my grandmother: thank you for showering us in unconditional love, and for believing wholeheartedly in this wild dream. I love you all very much.

Thank you to my parents, Kimphuong and Dungchi, who always encouraged my pursuits in writing, and who worked so hard to give us the opportunities we had, even when we were very young, and who continue to inspire me every day. Thank you for always believing in my success; for sending me to Stanford and Harvard and Brown to write, especially when you could have told me to study something more practical; for driving me to the bookstore and letting me sit for hours when I should have been playing outside; for working long hours and making the many sacrifices loving parents make without a word; for nourishing my skills and allowing them to flourish; and for supporting me so readily and selflessly. I love you, and I hope this book makes you proud.