Every Last Promise (20 page)

I'M SO GRATEFUL TO
all the friends and heroes who helped make this book a reality.

Thank you to my editor, Sarah Barley, who patiently steered this story from something that was more of a vague idea into what it is now. Her insights and patience are remarkable and I'm lucky to have her on my team. I'm grateful for designer Sarah Creech and art director Alison Donalty, who made this book look pretty; editorial director Erica Sussman, whose support of my work has been monumental; production editor Jon Howard, who catches my silly mistakes; and Heather Doss in sales, who is amazing at getting books into the world. Thank you to Jocelyn Davies, who stepped in to help put the final touches on this book. A huge thank-you to the rest of the team at HarperTeen who had a part in promoting this book and
Nobody But Us
. You are all awesome.

My writing career would be a disaster without the generous talents of my agent, Suzie Townsend. I'm so grateful for her guidance in all stages of writing and publishing. Thank you to the entire, very talented New Leaf Literary team: Joanna Volpe, Pouya Shabizan, Kathleen Ortiz, Danielle Barthel, Jaida Temperly, and David Caccavo. I appreciate everything each of you does.

To the YA writing community—aka the best writing community in the business—thank you for your support, your commiserations, your emails and tweets, your everything. In particular, love and gratitude go out to my dearest friends and YA Highway co-bloggers: Kate Hart, Kirsten Hubbard, Amy Lukavics, Kaitlin Ward, Stephanie Kuehn, Sumayyah Daud, Veronica Roth, Sarah Enni, Lee Bross, Leila Austin, Debra Driza, Emilia Plater, and Kristin Otts.
Alces Alces
forever.

And to all the readers and bloggers of YA: thank you for your passion.

My family always comes last in my acknowledgments, but first in real life. My thanks and love to Paul and my pixies for sharing this road with me and making every day precious beyond words.

EVERY LAST PROMISE
IS
a work of fiction in its entirety.

But the story has been influenced by real-life events.

I didn't set out to write a book about rape. But as I read the news coverage of sexual assaults and their cover-ups in one small town—and then another and another—I kept wondering: What were these people thinking and feeling? How did those involved see themselves? And I really meant
everyone
. The perpetrators and the survivors, the friends, the families, the townspeople who supported one side or the other, the people who brought wrongdoings to light, and the ones who wanted it all to remain hidden.

I wanted to explore some of these points of view in
Every Last Promise
, to dig deeper behind the motivations of the people who can become caricatures in the media—and to grow my own empathy and understanding. And I couldn't stop thinking about those people who had seen or suspected something, but felt that they shouldn't—or couldn't—speak up.

And so, Kayla was born.

If you are or become the family or friend of a rape or sexual-assault victim, there are steps to take to be the best support
possible. If someone tells you they've been raped, or if you know someone is a victim of sexual assault, follow these suggestions from RAINN and the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault:

1.   
  
First and foremost, believe the survivor. You might be the first and only person to ever say, “I believe you.”

2.   
  
Reassure the survivor that the rape was not their fault. They might need to hear that what they experienced was a crime and not an act of sex.

3.   
  
Never forget that rape is not sex. It is a crime of power and a violent assault.

4.   
  
Acknowledge that the person who raped chose to rape and is the one responsible for not raping. Do not ask the survivor what they did “wrong” or tell them what they could have done differently. They are the victim of the crime.

5.   
  
Provide the number for the National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-656-HOPE, or direct them to the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline, www.ohl.rainn.org/online, if they want to report the rape. Empower your friend or family member by being supportive and encouraging, but not pressuring them to act before they are ready. In addition to the rape culture and rape myths that discourage victims from reporting on a broader societal level, sexual assault victims
may be dealing with closer cultural pressures—like Bean vs. her small town—or even interfamily dynamics. Approximately two-thirds of rapes are committed by someone the victim knows, with almost 35 percent of juvenile rapes being perpetrated by a relative of the survivor.

6.   
  
Take care of yourself. Talk to someone at the National Sexual Assault Hotline about what you can do to be supportive, about how you feel, and about ways to cope and ways to stay healthy.

Ultimately, do your best to be a friend.

Survivors need friends.

With love and friendship,

Kristin

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KRISTIN HALBROOK
is the author of
Nobody But Us
. When she isn't appeasing her sense of wanderlust, she lives in Seattle, where gray skies and good coffee make ideal writing conditions, and where fine company is provided by her husband and a gaggle of pixies. You can visit her online at
www.kristinhalbrook.com
.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
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.

Nobody But Us

Every Last Promise