Non-Fiction – Page 3 – Trigger Warning Database

Will by Will Smith and Mark Manson

Will by Will Smith & Mark Manson

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had. Will Smith’s transformation from a West Philadelphia kid to one of the biggest rap stars of his era, and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, is an epic tale—but it’s…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Child abuse
Suicidal ideation
Death of a parent

Rust and Stardust by T Greenwood

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11-year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworths, she has no way of knowing that 52-year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he’s an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute–unless she does as he says. This chilling novel traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally while the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the… Read more,

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape & child sexual abuse
Suicide
Kidnapping

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon

Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

Beyond the Gender Binary, spoken word poet Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full colour. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Gender dysphoria
Coming out
Hate crimes
Bullying & cyberbullying

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

Engaging with themes of masculinity, racism, love, and joy, Johnson is at once critical and creative. His spoken word performance transfers effortlessly to the page, with poems that will encompass you. This is a book about blackness and survival, and how in American these are inseparable. In a world of individualism, who can you hold close? In a world of danger, what makes you feel safe? From a poem written in the form of a syllabus, to another about the time his grandmother literally saved his life, Johnson’s creative expression is constantly enacting the feminist mantra, “the personal is political.”

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism & racial slur
Cancer
Murder
Police brutality & violence
Gun violence

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald

In Vesper Flights Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best-loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep. Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, Helen invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing songbirds from the Empire State Building as they migrate through the Tribute of Light, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Classism
Depression
Animal cruelty

And We Rise by Erica Martin

And We Rise by Erica Martin

In stunning verse and vivid use of white space, Erica Martin’s debut poetry collection walks readers through the Civil Rights Movement—from the well-documented events that shaped the nation’s treatment of Black people, beginning with the “Separate but Equal” ruling—and introduces lesser-known figures and moments that were just as crucial to the Movement and our nation’s centuries-long fight for justice and equality.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Slavery mentioned
Racism & racial slurs
Lynching
Police brutality

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha

For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Sexism
Bullying
Death of a pet

Helium by Rudy Francisco

Helium by Rudy Francisco

Helium is the debut poetry collection by internet phenom Rudy Francisco, whose work has defined poetry for a generation of new readers. Rudy’s poems and quotes have been viewed and shared millions of times as he has traveled the country and the world performing for sell-out crowds. Helium is filled with work that is simultaneously personal and political, blending love poems, self-reflection, and biting cultural critique on class, race and gender into an unforgettable whole.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Depression
Bullying

Broken by Jenny Lawson

Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson

As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, Jenny brings readers along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way. With people experiencing anxiety and depression now more than ever, Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it. From the business ideas that she wants to pitch to Shark Tank to the reason why Jenny can never go back to the post office, Broken leaves nothing…. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Anxiety & panic attacks
Depression
Suicidal ideation

How to Be Ace by Rebecca Burgess

How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual by Rebecca Burgess

Growing up, Rebecca assumes sex is just a scary new thing they will ‘grow into’ as they get older, but when they leave school, start working and do grow up, they start to wonder why they don’t want to have sex with other people. In this brave, hilarious and empowering graphic memoir, we follow Rebecca as they navigate a culture obsessed with sex—from being bullied at school and trying to fit in with friends, to forcing themself into relationships and experiencing anxiety and OCD—before coming to understand and embrace their asexual identity.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Amisia & internalised amisia
Sexual assault mentioned
Anxiety & panic attacks
Depression
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Endometriosis mentioned
Emesis
Bullying