It could be argued that a more sensitive appreciation of the total reality of the ?madness experience?, of the interior perceptions, feelings and thoughts, and the exterior reactions based on them, is the single most important development that could improve the quality of life of those diagnosed mentally ill. This book aims to offer just that, presenting a number of personal experiences and providing an alternative to the received wisdom that mental illness is an affliction, an inevitably demoralising experience, which all patients would avoid if they could.

Phil Barker is the author of From the Ashes of Experience: Reflections of Madness, Survival and Growth, published by Wiley. Peter Campbell is the author of From the Ashes of Experience: Reflections of Madness, Survival and Growth, published by Wiley.