Sitting there on my knees in the sun porch of my new apartment, I suddenly recalled how that strange, revolutionary grown-up book made it to my bookshelf in the first place. I opened it to the inscription: "For Ptolemy, with love from Betty." My stepmother. I'd received Never Cry Wolf not too long after she moved in. The first time I'd flipped through it, I'd seen nothing but confirmation of the fact that this strange new woman didn't belong in my house. I'd been wrong about that. In fact, Betty ended up introducing me to most of the books and authors I loved. It was impossible for me to imagine my life without her.

蜷腿坐在我新公寓的有太阳的门廊处，我突然想起我的书架上为什么开始出现了那本奇怪的、革命性的成人书。我翻到了题词：“送给波托乐米，爱你的贝蒂”。我的继母。她搬进来之后不久，我就收到了“从不哭的狼”。我第一次翻看这本书时，我只是确认了这样的事实：这个奇怪的新女人不属于我的家。我错了。事实上，是贝蒂后来使我熟悉了我喜爱的大部分书和作者。我很难想象，如果没有贝蒂，我的生活会是什么样。