The writing of the book was supported by residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell Colony, Ucross Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center; at MacDowell, Solomon was the DeWitt Wallace/Reader's Digest Fellow and later the Stanford Calderwood fellow. The book was named one of the 10 best books of 2012 by The New York Times.
The writing of the book was supported by residencies at various institutions, including Yaddo, MacDowell Colony, Ucross Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center. Solomon held prestigious fellowships during this period, such as the DeWitt Wallace/Reader's Digest Fellowship and later the Stanford Calderwood fellowship. The book achieved recognition as one of the top 10 books of 2012 by The New York Times.