My thanks to Alan J. Fridlund, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and to George Bifano, D.O., a psychiatrist: both were tremendously patient and helpful with my questions about schizophrenia and mental illness.
I’m also grateful to champion runner Bob Lunn for helping me describe high school track events.
Of all the books and articles I read on mental illness, two books stand out for their harrowing firsthand accounts of what it’s like to suffer from these painful diseases: The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness, by Elyn R. Saks; and A Shining Affliction: A Story of Harm and Healing in Psychotherapy, by Annie G. Rogers.
My thanks, too, to my wonderful editor at Thomas Nelson, Amanda Bostic, who is a joy to work with and to know. Likewise, my agent at Trident Media, Alyssa Eisner Henkin, who has been more helpful than I can say.
Finally, and always, my thanks to Ellen Treacy Klavan, who remains, after all these years, my muse, my song, my only ever love.