Within the Ward

Paige is immersed in a dream reality called ‘the Journey’. If patients finish the Journey, then they can go home. Secrets are exposed as Paige bonds with other teens who don’t belong. The Journey is meant to be a cure – but Paige soon discovers dark forces within the hospital, and that the dream reality is the stuff of nightmares. Paige and her friends have limited chances to show progress, before it’s too late. Can they escape the ward? And can Paige find reasons to live? Within the Ward is a young adult novel that includes themes such as mental health, depression, suicide, friendships and relationships, grief and loss, and identity and perception. It explores the way people might perceive mental health struggles such as depression, and challenges readers to think about how they personally perceive such matters, including stigma. Within the Ward is set in a dystopian future where people like Paige are told that if they finish a dream reality called 'the Journey', then they can go home. But perception is challenged and the heaviness of depression is weighed as Paige navigates the world, trying to find the difference between what things are and what they seem. But not only does she have to find a way to escape the ward, but she must also discover herself for who she really is and find her own reason to live.