John worked for the state of California right out of college for seven years. During that time he saw many disgusting and unspeakable things that depicted the worst of humanity but nothing haunted him more than the thought of what his old neighbor had gone through.
He got the answer to his question. The kids he worked with had all sorts of behavior issues and psychological disorders as a result of what they went through. Sometimes their foster/adoptive parents were able to help them work through it. Sometimes they were not.
Hopefully the relative Hazel ended up with was the kind of caretaker who wouldn't give up on her and gave her the resources she needed to become a happy, healthy person despite her trauma. John wondered about that all the time.
It was seeing a similar case that finally made him break down and quit, taking some time off before finding a new job to write that book. He had enough savings to help him get by at the time.
