Proof I Was Here

This book has been raised with the help of a village so large it’s really a country – or two countries, to be exact. For support in Spain, I would like to say mil gracias to chosen sisters Aaron Crisp, Lourdes Adela Enamorado Alvarenga, Yesenia Patricia Garcia McKinnon, Virginie Lörtscher, Annie Pujkiewicz and Elke Van Ael for accompanying me on research adventures into the darker corners of Barcelona. Thanks also to Juan Ansó for cooking for me, and to Luis Castel and Cesc Martínez for being my go-to guys on all things Catalan. (To Cesc also for a careful reading of the book.) My stay at the Jiwar Creation Residence provided an inspiring place to reconnect with this story. In Canada, as part of the Creative Writing MFA program at the University of Guelph, I benefitted from early feedback from my classmates, as well as from Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Pasha Malla and Russell Smith. Crucial writing and research grants came from the Toronto Arts Council, Access Copyright, the Ontario Arts Council, the Porcupine’s Quill (through the OAC Writers’ Reserve Program) and the Canada Council. I am grateful for my time at the Banff Centre, and for the opportunity to workshop the manuscript with Shyam Selvadurai during the Diaspora Dialogues Long Form Mentorship program. Amanda Lewis and Barbara Berson offered excellent advice at critical moments. Alissa York provided insightful late-game guidance during the writing program at Sage Hill. I have greatly appreciated the input of my wonderful agent, Stephanie Sinclair, and astute reader Deanna Roney from Transatlantic. My editor, Paul Vermeersch, has kindly cared for this novel over the last two years. Ashley Hisson’s thoughtful copy edits helped so much to polish this work, as did Elisabet Ràfols’ final review of the Catalan in the book. A big thank you to Officer Dave G., John Lefebvre, Sean Marks and Carlos Suárez for conversing with me about crime and punishment. And to Jeffrey Fair for introducing me to freeganism. The following chosen sisters need to be thanked as early readers and/or literary cheerleaders: Sylvia Arthur, Rachel Deutsch, Rebecca Fisseha, Severn Thompson, Christine Lynett, Nancy Jo Cullen, Eufemia Fantetti, Erina Harris, Leesa Dean, my Cinnamon Karma ladies and the Shark-tailed Grouse g**g. Ayelet Tsabari, Kathy Friedman and Kilby Smith-McGregor each gave essential feedback on this novel at different stages. Kilby also created the beautiful design for this book. Warmest thanks to: my parents, Pat and Bill, and my sisters, Kara and Julie, for their unwavering support; my old colleagues at ESM for always believing I would eventually have another job; and Sarah Curley for being a truly amazing friend.