From a Safe Distance

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After his sister Abbie's suicide, Newman rediscovers her unpublished manuscript, forgotten in his loft. Considering publication he decides to write an introduction to the novel, whose main character is Vee, a teacher. Vee was previously in love with Max, a psychiatrist, but the relationship was short-lived. Childhood nightmares about her long-dead Aunt Mary's mental illness lead Vee to create a doorin her mind to shut her out. But Aunt Mary's door is not enough to withstand a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which ends Vee's teaching career. Some time later Vee gets a job at Squaremile, a centre for disabled people, but she soon realises that stigma is not just confined to job applications. Once, when she was a teacher, she was believed and trusted. Now, suffering from bipolar disorder, she is doubted and bullied. Vee meets Max again, but this time as his patient. Max is unable to prevent Vee's suicide, and feels intolerable guilt, in part because of his earlier relationship withher. Max hopes to fin