Maiden, Victoria: - "THIS BOOK IS AN ACCIDENT. IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE. Victoria Maiden never intended to write a book. She has never entertained fantasies of writing the great American novel, a Hollywood screenplay, or anything else. She is not a professional in any area who over time has acquired a store of expertise and knowledge that could be imparted to others in the form of a book. Nor has she undergone some unique, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that cries out to be shared with the world.She is merely an individual whose entire life has been warped and tainted by an often invisible plague that affects millions of us - mental illness. For decades she bore the burden as best she could, sought help when and where it was available, and tried to hide her illness from others. She simply lived a life of what Henry David Thoreau called "quiet desperation."So how did this book happen? Victoria grew up with a younger brother who suffered a more severe form of mental illness. The two were close and turned to one another for comfort and support. But Victoria always knew that her brother's life would not have a happy ending. And when, one fateful morning, she got a phone call from Dakar, Senegal informing her that her brother was dead, she was heart-broken but not surprised.And she decided she needed to do something. Tell a story. What if she could paint a vivid, brutally honest picture of what it is actually like to live with mental illness on a day to day basis. Maybe somebody who has a loved one who suffers from the same affliction would be curious enough to take a peek at that picture.So she consulted her memories, as well as her collection of diaries and journals kept over the years and attempted, for the very first time, to pen a memoir. Just pouring out all the weirdness on paper - raw, unfiltered, just the way it happened. The book you are holding in your hand is the result."