Noah's Wife (26 page)

Their eyes are still closed when the song ends, when the church door crashes open and the sound of the rain doubles its thunderous volume. The townspeople are determined to cling to the last bit of light at the end of Leesl's song, this final prayer.
They are determined not to see the end as it comes to them, determined to hold fast to their pews while the waves rush in, and so they refuse to turn around. They stand where they are, facing the altar with their heads bowed and their hands clasped tightly together. They do not see the figure stepping through the doorway with her long dark hair whipping to one side, they do not hear her call to them over the sound of the rain pouring into the water, and they do not see the gold lights gleaming from the boats that are idling and waiting for them, floating on the flooded town behind
her.

Noah's Wife
began as a series of character sketches when I was attending the Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame. The project would never have left the ground were it not for the support of my lively and talented cohort, the counsel of William O'Rourke and Steve Tomasula, and the eloquent, ever-affirming guidance of Valerie Sayers.

I am deeply indebted to my agent, Laura Langlie, who pulled my manuscript out of her slush pile and pronounced it worthy of pursuit. I am grateful not only for Laura's keen editorial eye, but also for her patience, her confidence, and her warmth on the days when the project seemed like it would last forever.

Amy Einhorn, who purchased the book, perceived something of value in the roughest, earliest draft of the manuscript when it landed on her desk. Her staunch faith in a future version of the novel truly propelled me forward.

Liz Stein, who edited the book, consistently impressed me with her talent and her tenacity. She came to know the characters as well as I did, and the novel is stronger and deeper because of her.

Helen Richard, who ushered the final product into the world, has approached my prose time and again with precision and care. I am thankful for both her edits and her generous affirmation, and I am fortunate to have her as a champion of the novel.

Other individuals and institutions that supported this project include Ken Reininger and the staff of the beautiful North Carolina Zoo, where I was invited behind the scenes. Friends-of-friends Cheri LaFlamme Szcodronski and Joe Szcodronski were kind enough to sit down with me over dinner to share stories of the time they spent as zookeepers.

The Department of English and Comparative Literature at UNC-Chapel Hill provided me with the flexibility necessary to finish the novel while also working toward my doctoral degree. I especially appreciate the encouragement of Gregg Flaxman and Erin Carlston, my dissertation directors, and the generous support of Daniel Wallace, whom I feel lucky to count as a mentor, colleague, friend, and reader.

At UNC I had the opportunity to work as an editor of
The Carolina Quarterly
, where I was inspired by the fresh voices we published as well as by my fellow editors' tireless commitment to and advocacy for contemporary literature. I was also energized by the passion, insight, and honesty of my students in Introduction to Fiction Writing (Fall 2015). I am certain that this novel would be ten times stronger if only they had been given the chance to critique it.

Throughout this process, I leaned on friends and family. Lissa Yu provided Dr. Yu's name and served as a model for her intelligence, her
commitment to her family, her dedication to medicine, and her faith in her friends. Tasha Matsumoto walked me through the first draft on our morning constitutionals in South Bend. Subsequent drafts took shape over long dinners with Katie Spencer, who mused with me about characters and pairings and who, together with Martha Precup, patiently answered time and again when I wondered aloud: “But who
is
Noah's wife?” I entrusted very few people with the whole manuscript before it was finished, and I am thankful for the insight and forbearance of those rare souls who kindly volunteered to read it.

My father hosted me at the lake year after year for impromptu writer's retreats, pored over my contract, downloaded multiple drafts on his e-reader, and built a bookshelf specifically for my book. He provided love and support in every possible way—often in the form of lattes. To his faithful and persistent inquiry, I can now reply: Yes, the book is finally done.

My mother, Lorelei, has read every single world of every single draft, and yet her enthusiasm for the project has never waned. Throughout these five years, I have been astounded time and again by her generosity, her intelligence, her sense of humor, and her faith. If the book has any wisdom to it, that wisdom is hers; I simply transcribed it.

And to Christopher, who knew when he asked me to marry him that he would be marrying this novel, too, and who went through with it all the same: Thank you for loving me in spite of the book, not because of it; and thank you for sustaining me in this world when my mind was lost in another one. Everything is better with
you.

Lindsay Starck was born in Wisconsin and raised in the Milwaukee Public Library. She studied literature at Yale and creative writing at Notre Dame. She currently writes and teaches in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and a golden retriever.
Noah's Wife
is her first
novel.

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