Serotonia

by Bret Harvey

In the dreams of Bret Harvey, a huge orange fireball has destroyed much of the landscape. It is a desert now, lifeless and filled with broken houses. Food is scarce. To see a human is rare. The Dark Ones, with their childlike voices and fingers like long knives, are constantly pursuing Harvey. Welcome to Serotonia, the very unpleasant world where Harvey's dreams take place.It's a world created by the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to help Harvey cope with his depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The side effects of the drug cast a spell on his subconscious, creating a sequence of chilling dreams, which he retells in Serotonia. The dreams expose some of the most raw and haunting parts of his psyche.In succession, the dreams tell the story of what is wrong in his life and how Harvey must face it. He returns to Serotonia each night, trying to discover what the Dark Ones really want. Serotonia leads him through a rabbit hole of terror while he tries to find the sense of peace that we all search for and learns how to cope with the darker side of himself.

118 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Nihil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope the story is as real as the author claims. It's pretty interesting, either way, but more-so if it really happened. In Serotonia, Bret Harvey takes a trip inside himself- something all of us should probably do, whether or not we're dealing with the same issues as the author (PTSD, taking SSRIs, &c.). It reminded me somewhat of Alex Garland's The Coma, generally speaking. A pretty good, fairly quick read.