(Nether)World In My Mind

schiz·o·phre·ni·a - a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion.

Lydia Deetz hasn't been the same since her Mother died. It started slow, but it got worse. Charles thought that maybe moving his beloved daughter to a new home would help, but instead it worsened her condition. She began "phasing out," talking to the ghosts she claimed to see. So he decided to take a drastic move, and check her into Nether Hill Psych Facility.

Co·tard Syn·drome - a rare mental disorder in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are already dead, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs.

Lawrence Shaggoth has been a patient at Nether Hill for many years, since his early teens when his mother brought him. In that time he has not improved, in fact he has worsened. Now with a new friend, he sees a chance to prove to the nurses that he is truly dead and needs saving.

Sav·ior comp·lex - a state of mind in which an individual believes that they are responsible for saving or assisting others.

Adam and Barbara Maitland have worked at the hospital for years. They find solace in their work, and want to help their newest patient, although their old patient seems to be presenting a new challenge. Not only is Lawrence pulling Lydia into his delusion, he seems to be trying to get them to believe it too, and is more convinced than ever that he is a dead man walking, a demon to the name of Beetlejuice...Who simply needs saving.

Can the young teen be helped? Is Lawrence truly what he claims to be? Are the Maitlands stuck in their own delusion of being able to save someone?

It's all here, in the Netherworld in their minds.

HUGE trigger warning for the book: it will deal with mental disorders/illnesses, suicidal thoug