The Light of Paris (32 page)

I am so grateful to:

Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein, for your faith and encouragement.

Everyone at McIntosh & Otis, especially Alecia Douglas.

Chris Pepe, for your guidance, enthusiasm, and kindness.

The team at Putnam and Penguin Random House, for your unflagging support, especially Ivan Held, Lauren Lopinto, Christine Ball, Alexis Welby, Karen Fink, Ashley McClay, Anna Romig, and Tom Benton. Thanks to Ploy Siripant for the cover design, Lauren Kolm for the interior design, and Ivy McFadden for copyediting.

My international publishers, for bringing
The Weird Sisters
and
The Light of Paris
to readers around the world.

Erin Blakemore, Ellen Brown, and Kelly O'Connor McNees: Thank you for your wisdom and your unconditional love.

Steve Almond, Elizabeth Gilbert, Paula McLain, Sarah Pekkanen, and Kathy Trocheck, and all my writer friends and allies who have been so generous and supportive along the way. Special thanks to Joanne Levy, Samuel Park, and Kyran Pittman.

The community at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, especially Andrea Dupree and Bill Henderson.

The team at Tattered Cover Book Store, especially Cathy Langer.

Everyone at Barnes & Noble, especially Sessalee Hensley and Miwa Messer.

Lisa Casper and the staff of Douglas County Libraries, especially Amy Pfeiffer and Pam Harbert.

My CrossFit and CrossFit Modig families, especially David Goodenberger and Corey Townsend, and the Coffee Crew.

The Denver Debutante Ball Committee and Joanne Davidson.

Chris, for never letting go.

The writers at The Writers' Table. It's an honor to be part of your creative process, and a pleasure to write and think and laugh with you.

The booksellers and librarians who love and champion books and reading, and who so generously placed
The Weird Sisters
in readers' hands again and again.

And most of all, to you, for reading.

In 1923, when my maternal grandmother was twenty-two, she went on a trip to Europe. The itinerary was planned—England, France, Italy, home. But when she arrived in Paris, my grandmother did something quite shocking for a young woman of her social class in those days—she decided to stay.

She found a job, working at the American Library, and threw herself into the pleasures of the City of Light in the Jazz Age—dancing at Zelli's until dawn, touring the Musée Rodin's gardens, and exploring the lively Latin Quarter with her friends.

My grandmother passed away when I was young, and I never really knew her. But a few years ago, my parents mentioned that not only had she lived in Paris, they had the letters she'd written to her family when she was there.

Reading those letters, I met the young woman my grandmother had been—bookish but lively, cocky but naïve, and full of delight in the life she had been bold enough to create for herself.

Although my grandmother loved books, it wasn't realistic for her to dream of being a writer. In one letter, she says that when she returns from Paris, she'll either take a secretarial course or get married—her only options.

Almost a century later, I feel lucky to live with freedoms my grandmother could have only dreamed of. This story is in honor of her and all the grandmothers who came before us, to celebrate the brave choices they made so we can be the women we want to be.

Eleanor Brown is the
New York Times
–bestselling author of
The Weird Sisters
, which was an Indie Next pick, an Amazon Best Book of the Month, and a Barnes & Noble Book of the Month and a Discover selection. Her writing has also appeared in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines, including
The Washington Post, CrossFit Journal
, and
Publishers Weekly
, and she teaches at conferences and writing centers around the country. She lives in Colorado.

Looking for more?
Visit Penguin.com for more about this author and a complete list of their books.
Discover your next great read!