Cut Away

Title Page, Copyright, Acknowledgments

Cut Away This page intentionally left blank. Cut Away a novel Catherine Kirkwood Arktoi Books | Los Angeles, CA Cut Away Copyright © 2010 by Catherine Kirkwood All rights reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner. Book layout by Sydney Nichols Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kirkwood, Catherine, 1964Cut away : a novel / Catherine Kirkwood. — 1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-9800407-9-1 (alk. paper) 1. Women—Identity—Fiction. 2. Surgery, Plastic—Fiction. 3. Transgender people—Fiction. 4. Psychological fiction. I. Title. PS3611.I769C88 2009 813’.6—dc22 2009039758 The Annenberg Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts partially support Red Hen Press. First Edition Published by Arktoi Books An Imprint of Red Hen Press Los Angeles, CA www.arktoibooks.com www.redhen.org Acknowledgements I am profoundly indebted to my teachers: Douglas A. Martin, Alexander Chee, Bhanu Kapil, and Rachel Pollack, whose inspired insights saw this work from infancy to near completion . Thanks to the faculty, students, and staff of Goddard College, my touchstone in the persistent endeavor to keep writing at the center of life. Thank you to Red Hen Press, Arktoi Books, Tara Ison, Nickole Brown and, especially, Eloise Healy Klein for their enthusiasm, attentive counsel, and an enduring commitment to keeping literature alive with new voices. A special thanks to Rebecca Brown, Scott Driscoll, Barbara Sjoholm, Laurie Ludwig, Michelle Munro, and the Flight Club for standing by me through the early years and feeding the flames of the smallest sparks. Also thanks to A Room of Her Own Writer’s Retreats for a week in the New Mexico desert during which this work was conceived. Deepest gratitude to my mother, father, and both of my brothers who never falter in their love, loyalty, and resilience. Thanks also to Kayleen. Without you—my writing, my life, would be half lived. This page intentionally left blank. ...