Sidelines, page 29
I thank the Australian National University, College of Arts and Social Sciences, for the generous gift of a Visiting Fellowship and a room in which to work. Special thanks to Lucy Neave for support.
I offer deep thanks to my children, now adults, Ryan and Nina, for sharing their life journeys with me, and for being such amazing, inspirational people, despite any mistakes I may have made as a parent, especially as a soccer mum.
Above all, my husband, David Lindenmayer, has lived and breathed this novel with me for the past four (or twenty) years. Without his help and knowledge as an ex-professional footballer, I wouldn’t have been able to pull this story together. David has read and listened to this book beyond the call of duty, and has been there with me every inch of the way.
Sadly, while I was in the final stages of editing this book, my sister, Fiona Andersen, died unexpectedly. For all my previous novels, she made valuable comments and provided wise insights. Unfortunately, she never read Sidelines. I miss her every day and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.
Karen Viggers is a writer, wildlife and domestic animal veterinarian, adventurer and podcaster. She is the author of The Stranding, The Lightkeeper’s Wife, The Grass Castle and The Orchardist’s Daughter. Her work explores contentious issues, such as dying with dignity, displacement of First Peoples, wildlife research and rescue, kangaroo culling, clear-felling of native forests, and now, junior sport and modern parenting. She is the co-host of the Secrets from the Green Room podcast in which she interviews authors and other book industry colleagues about books, writing and green rooms. She is mother to two adult children and a dog, and she lives in Canberra on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Land with her ecologist husband. Her books have been translated into several languages and have enjoyed great success in France, where she is a bestselling author and has won a literary award. Sidelines is her fifth novel.
www.karenviggers.com
Karen Viggers, Sidelines
