This is a book which is nearly impossible to classify, much less review. If I had to compare it to something, it would be a collection of DVD special features for a wide variety of films, both indie and blockbuster, bundled together as part of a telethon to raise awareness about mental illness.

The latter is the only thread that binds the book together. Each author gives his or her experience with mental illness, either in themselves, their family, their friends, or just out in the world. These are the strongest parts of the book, the most genuine and moving.

In between, each author has been given essentially free reign to fill space with the subject matter of their choice. A few contributed short stories, and these are on the whole above average in content. The rest contributed deleted scenes, first drafts, stubs of stories that never really paid off.

My opinion of these was mixed. For the authors that I had read, the peek behind the curtain was fun. Not riveting, but a nice return to a world once visited. For the others, I quickly lost interest. When you're dealing with early drafts of unedited prose, you probably aren't seeing these authors at their best. I don't think it's fair to judge any of them on the content included, and since most of them had to do with characters and situations that I had never heard about before, the impact was rather lost on me.

I received this book through an Indiegogo campaign, designed to support author Dan Wells in his struggle with mental illness. I'm glad to have given to the campaign and I'd gladly do so again. If you come across a copy of this book, you should keep in mind its origin, and read it in that context. ( )