Gavin Extence on taboo subjects such as assisted suicide

British author Gavin Extence doesn't shy away from taboo subjects. His acclaimed first novel, The Universe Versus Alex Woods, centres on a teenager who helps his elderly friend end his own life. For his second novel, The Mirror World of Melody Black he has drawn on his own experience of bipolar disorder. His main character, Abby, has type 2 bipolar disorder and her life begins to unravel after she goes to her neighbour's flat to borrow a can of tomatoes, and finds him dead on the couch.