I must thank a few people who helped me through this journey. First of all, thanks to my Australian friend, Sharni, who I trusted implicitly for advice on each chapter of this book when it was first written. Thanks also to Roya and Mary Anne, who were a great help to me in editing and cleaning up my sentences. Thanks to Philippa from Derbyshire, England, who gave me a beautiful description of that county and what a small village like Lambton may have looked like in the nineteenth century. Thanks to Deb Werksman and Sourcebooks, who took a chance with me and gave me the opportunity to publish this book. Finally, thanks to all who read this story when it was first written and self-published, and encouraged me along the way.