"This is not a definitive account of fifty Americans. Rather it is my recollection of how I handled the situation during days "on the job" that ranged from a little tougher than normal to downright terrifying. Each of the fifty-two of us was treated differently, and this only tells my story - and part of Ann's after we were finally permitted to become roommates on March 12, 1980. I understand from looking at headlines and articles that were written during the time of our captivity that the going was rough here in the United States. The time inside the compound was tough, too, but often in a way that was much different from the picture the American public carried in its mind's eye. Here, then, is what I remember as being important in my life from those days when I was an involuntary "guest of the revolution." -- Kathryn Koob from Foreword