Book excerpt: DescriptionHe was born with a hole in his soul.A hole that rendered him vulnerable and weak. A hole that made him constantly search for the unattainable. A search that would prove deadly and leave him, early in his life, emotionally, financially and physically crippled.With better understanding, an earlier diagnosis and different treatment perhaps his and many other souls could have been saved.Hole in my Soul is a collection of short poetic stories that tell of the devastating effects and consequences of his illness. It asks questions of society and its leaders, so corrupted by large corporations, that it treats disease, conflict and poverty with such ignorance and disdain.Hole in my Soul is a rallying call that exposes the ills of modern society and encourages readers to rise up and pressurise for a change in priorities that will better serve the global community.About the AuthorSimon Russell was born in 1959 in South London.The youngest of four children in a middle class family he was privately educated and until his illness overwhelmed him in his early thirties he had a highly paid and rewarding career as managing director of several well known brands, a wonderful home and a loving and supportive family.Inexplicably and piece by piece over an agonising and frightening 15 year period this all evaporated. In the latter stages the pace quickened with periods of mania, madness and hospitalisation.He has now turned to writing in an effort to rebuild his own life and to draw attention to the issues of mental illness. In particular to improve public understanding, to encourage early diagnosis and to increase funding into research so as to identify more successful treatment.Simon would welcome any comments on his work.