Lylak

Ariran was born into a world just a sprinkling of Mandela effects away from yours. He’s not sure he wanted that. Not when he feels so alienated and alone. Life torments him, and he just doesn’t fit in. So he plans to escape, but the way out leads to a way in. After finding a home within a community of troubled souls, he falls in love, and shares a dreadful secret. Then, tragedy strikes. Driven by the will to survive, he struggles on, trying to build a normal life, but fate has other plans.

Fly, Fly Away My Sorrow is a book about suicide and the value of life. It explores how a sensitive, intelligent being, with a divergent world-view, struggles to hold on to dignity while suffering multiple traumas, and enduring a systemically abusive health system.

Contains explicit language and vivid descriptions of drug use, alcoholism, neglect, violence, death, abuse, sex, sexual abuse, self-harm, suicide, discrimination, and animal euthanasia, among other things.

Emotionally rich prose, infused with philosophical musings and dark humour. A seminal novel and essential reading for anybody with a practical or philosophical interest in how complex mental health issues are framed and treated in contemporary western society.