Acknowledgements

BOOK DEDICATION: 

Sandra and Kathy dedicate Evie's Fall to the irrepressible, brilliant, and brave Chris Seeley, whose life with those who knew and loved her ended far too soon with many of her gifts yet to be shared. We are persuaded that, in another time and place, Evie, whose story this is, would have been a bit like Chris. At the very least, they would have had a bawdy laugh or two.

Sandra's Acknowledgements:

The late Henry Robert Burke, author of The River Jordan and many other works, spent a morning with me discussing African American life and history in Ohio from the founding of the Northwest Territory to the present, and Marietta life in particular. The geographic and cultural dimensions of the unnamed town in Evie's Fall are based very loosely on his stories of the neighborhood in Marietta that was once called “Bucktown.”

Michael Leasure, musician, friend to animals, and soul extraordinaire, wrote wonderful music to accompany the novel and which inspired us all to create with more joy and to experience the creative process more thoroughly and with greater integrity. https://michaelleasure.com/ and https://www.thevoiceforanimalsradio.com/

Stacy Kinchen told me his personal story of his brother’s death from a disorder similar to polio after I had already written that scene in the book. The descriptions in the text called up many memories for him. Stacy’s brother’s name was also Jimmy, which was a meaningful coincidence for us both. Stacy provided family photos which helped me visualize Jimmy's and Marion’s characters. His piano piece, “Ralphie's Lament,” captures the sadness of James’s death and became, in my mind, "The Death of Jimmy."

Kathryn Black’s In the Shadow of Polio helped me imagine what baby James’ death might have been like and is a wealth of information about both the personal tragedy of polio and also the history of the disease.

Kathy Skerritt’s consent to illustrate this book gave the story more life! What can I say about those images except they are transporting? If you are interested in seeing more of Kathy's work, go here and here.

Cheryl Cesta's childhood story was a poignant reminder of racism. The character of "Jimmy" got his name from her first "crush," a boy in the first grade who used to bring her pretty yellow paper. After meeting Jimmy one day when she was picking Cheryl up from school, Cheryl’s mother told six-year-old Cheryl in the car later that while she could be Jimmy’s friend, they could never marry because Jimmy was "colored."

Finally, I would like to thank my family, Hunt, Maddie, and Trevor Brawley, each of whom has put up with my staring into the computer and my many absent-minded answers to their varied questions about the exigencies of life. I hope Evie’s story reaches many people on many levels, and my family gave me the space needed to create. If you have an artist in your life, please encourage their self-expression.