In 1997 I, Margaret Mitchell, found myself at the beginning of this book project. After advertising for other people's experiences of mental illness, I found myself with many pieces of work from sufferers. In the years to follow I found myself typing up everything I had received, which gave me the opportunity to read all the experiences of other sufferers. It occurred to me that I was not alone - there were other sufferers out there that had suffered like I had. Normally mental illness is a taboo subject and it can be very lonely - It made me realise I was not alone.