in America, for talking with me so thoughtfully about the effects of gun violence in our schools and communities.
I’m also so grateful to Wayne Braun, Corey Lipscomb (Hi Heather!), and Philip Alter for helping me research issues of building design—and I owe a great debt to the fascinating book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, by Ingrid Fetell Lee, for its insight into how design can impact our experience of the world.
FYI: The poems that Duncan would like to have read at his funeral are two of my personal favorites: “From Blossoms” by Li-Young Lee, and “Wondrous” (a poem about Charlotte’s Web) by Sarah Freligh. Look ’em up! And also, before I forget, I need to thank Makenzie Minshew, a girl I met while doing “research” on the real-world Iron Shark, who described our collective fear just perfectly when she said, “It’s like your stomach’s inside out.” Heartfelt thanks, also, to Lizzie Kempner McFarland and Babette Hale for letting me use their names.
And can I just take a moment to thank all the Bookstagrammers, and bloggers, and online reviewers and … just … readers out there who took a chance on my books, and then loved them, and then helped spread the word in one way or another?! Books live or die on word of mouth. If you have ever done anything to encourage anyone to read something I’ve written, thank you. It mattered. I’m still here because of you.
I need to send the most heartfelt thanks to my beloved writing teacher from Vassar College, Beverly Coyle. I will never forget—and will always cherish—the moment when she said to me, “I can count on one finger the students I’ve taught who can write like you.” Encouragement is so vital, and so precious, and that one little sentence saw me through some long valleys of self-doubt.
I am grateful beyond human description to my beloved publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for all the ways they’ve believed in me and supported me and become the most wonderful home. I’m so thankful to be there, and so lucky to get to work with the most amazing people on the planet: Jen Enderlin, Sally Richardson, Lisa Senz, Olga Grlic, Jessica Preeg and Katie Bassel, Brant Janeway, Erica Martirano, Tom Thompson, Sallie Lotz, Natalie Tsay, Elizabeth Catalano, Anne Marie Tallberg, Lauren Germano … and so many more, including, in a way, my dear friends Katherine and Andrew Weber! I also—always—want to thank my agent, Helen Breitwieser, for all her unwavering support over so many years.
Most of all, I need to thank my fun, loving, astonishingly supportive family—most especially, my hilarious husband, Gordon, my delightful kids, Anna and Thomas, and my phenomenally awesome mom, Deborah Detering—for all the ways that they keep encouraging me to get out there and try like heck to reach my potential. There’s no way I could ever thank you enough … but I’ll always keep trying.
ALSO BY KATHERINE CENTER
Things You Save in a Fire
How to Walk Away
Happiness for Beginners
The Lost Husband
Get Lucky
Everyone Is Beautiful
The Bright Side of Disaster
About the Author
KATHERINE CENTER is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including Things You Save in a Fire and How to Walk Away. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen. The Dallas Morning News calls her stories “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine recently gave a TEDx talk on how stories teach empathy. Her work has appeared in USA Today, InStyle, Redbook, People, The Atlantic, Real Simple, and other publications. She lives in Houston with her fun husband and two sweet kids.
Come visit her website—and join her mailing list—at www.katherinecenter.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Also by Katherine Center
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
WHAT YOU WISH FOR. Copyright © 2020 by Katherine Pannill Center. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
Cover design by Olga Grlic
Cover photographs: flowers © wacomka; wheel © Hime-sama/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Center, Katherine, author.
Title: What you wish for / Katherine Center.
Description: First Edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2020.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020002696 | ISBN 9781250219367 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250219381 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PS3603.E67 W48 2020 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020002696
eISBN 9781250219381
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2020