Barking by Lucy Sullivan
Loopy . . . cuckoo . . . stark raving. . . When the depression and grief Alix feels over the death of her friend overwhelm her, she's institutionalised. But inside a psychiatric ward, things don't get better for her - now she has nowhere to get away from her rapidly-spiraling thoughts. As Alix navigates disinterested attendants, group therapy, and isolation, she must build herself a new equilibrium and tame the black dog of her depression. Inspired by her own struggles with mental health, Lucy Sullivan tells a powerful, emotional story about the problems that sometimes overwhelm us all - and the failures in the mental health system we depend on.