When I was in graduate school *several* years ago, I worked as a research assistant on a project that examined treatment outcomes for adolescents in mental health programs. From that experience, I was familiar with procedures for crisis stabilization and evaluation. In fact, I'd estimate that I conducted over 200 Diagnostic Interviews across a 4-year stretch, several of which took place in adolescent treatment centers much like Rawlings, the fictional facility described in this story.

My duties at the research center were limited to interviewing and data management. I left the analysis to the credentialed team of psychologists, who used the findings to advocate for more services for youth with mental illness. For this book, I consulted a trained psychotherapist in order to describe the general procedures for memory recovery.

As I developed the Capitol scenes, I discovered a wealth of info on the Web related to the House and Senate office buildings, the underground rail connecting them to the Capitol, the various dining rooms and the Capitol itself. I haven't toured the Capitol since I was a child; now I want to do it again.