Depression – Trigger Warning Database

Dead in the Water by John Marrs

When Damon survives a near-drowning, his life flashes before his eyes. Every memory is crystal clear—except one. A dead boy. A face he can’t place. A moment he doesn’t remember living. At first he tells himself it’s a trick of the mind. But everything else he saw was real. So why not this? With his waking life stalked by the disturbing scene, confusion quickly turns to obsession. Desperate for answers, Damon digs into his fractured past, and becomes convinced that the only way to remember…is to die again. And again. And again. When he meets a perfect stranger who’s all too… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child abuse mentioned
Suicide & suicidal ideation
Depression mentioned
Abortion mentioned
Death of a child
Fatal hit-and-run car accident
Near-drowning incident

The Winter Garden by Alexandra Bell

Welcome to the Winter Gardens of Half Moon House. Please do not mishandle the exhibits. (The owners accept no liability for any events that occur, magical or otherwise…) The Winter Garden open at the stroke of midnight with no great fanfare – after all, this is a time when all virtuous folk should be in bed. But for the few curious souls that brave the opening of its gates what enchantments await. There is all manner of strange and spectacular flora and fauna collected on her travels by the scandalous Lady Beatrice Sitwell and exhibited for the delight of paying customers. By… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Rape & sexual assault
Domestic abuse
Drug abuse
Depression
Death of a child & parent
Animal abuse

Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily R. Austin

Darcy’s life turned out better than she could have ever imagined. She is a librarian at the local branch, while her wife Joy runs a book binding service. Between the two of them, there is no more room on their shelves with their ample book collections, various knickknacks and bobbles, and dried bouquets. Rounding out their ideal life is two cats and a sun-soaked house by the lake. But when Darcy receives the news that her ex-boyfriend, Ben, has passed away, she spirals into a pit of guilt and regret, resulting in a mental breakdown and medical leave from the library. When she… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Homophobia & transphobia
Image based sexual abuse (protagonist is threatened by a secondary character when she accidentally uploads an unintentionally intimate photo)
Emotional parental abuse
Infidelity recounted (the protagonist cheated on her boyfriend in the past; mentions of a secondary character’s husband cheating)
Anxiety, insomnia & panic disorder (protagonist) with mentions of dissociation and panic attacks
Parent with postpartum depression recounted
Psychiatric hospitalisation for acute stress reaction recounted (protagonist)
Disordered eating mentioned & recounted, including attempted purging & dieting
Alcohol consumption & recreational drug use
Abortion recounted
Pregnancy & teen pregnancy mentioned (brief, secondary characters)
Death of an ex-boyfriend from a brain aneurysm discussed

A Grim and Sunken Vow by Ashley Shuttleworth

The die is cast. The era of Spring is over. Riadne’s bloody coup on the Summer Solstice changed Arlo’s life forever. In one fell swoop and a fool’s bargain, she lost both her family and free will to the newly crowned High Queen. Now, with Arlo forced to use her powers as Luck’s Hollow Star to help summon the rest of the seven deadly sins, Riadne stands closer than ever to achieving her dark goals. And Arlo isn’t the only one trapped in a frightening new role. Her ex-Fury girlfriend, Nausicaä, is determined to do whatever it takes to stay by Arlo’s side, even if that means becoming… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Child trafficking
Child abuse & neglect
Depression
Suicide recounted (off-page) & suicidal ideation mentioned
Self-harm
Blood & gore depiction
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a sister, mother & father
Murder & torture
Arson

The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum

Hollis Brown is stuck. Born to a Blue-Collar American Dream, Hollis lives in a rotting small town where no one can afford to leave. Hollis’s only bright spots are his two best friends, cool girls Annie and Yulia, and the thrill of fighting his classmates. As if his circumstances couldn’t get worse, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger named Walt results in a frightening trap. After unknowingly making a deal at the crossroads, Hollis finds himself losing control of his body and mind, falling victim to possession. Walt, the ghost making a home inside him, has a deep and violent history rooted in the town Hollis grew up in and he has unfinish… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Depression & suicidal ideation
Loss of autonomy (possession)

This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi

Rinn Olivera is finally going to tell her longtime crush AJ that she’s in love with him. Daniella Korres writes poetry for her own account, but nobody knows it’s her. Imogen Azar is just trying to make it through the day. When Rinn, Daniella, and Imogen clock into work at Wild Nights Bookstore on the first day of summer, they’re expecting the hours to drift by the way they always do. Instead, they have to deal with the news that the bookstore is closing. Before the day is out, there’ll be shaved heads, a diva author, and a very large shipment of Air Jordans to contend with. And it will… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Attempted sexual assault
Anxiety & depression
Suicidal ideation

Breaking His Ice by Klastella

I have one rule: I don’t do relationships. Hookups? Sure. Love? Hell no. Love doesn’t fix anything—it just screws you up. I know. I watched it ruin my family. As captain of the Ridgewater Warriors, my game plan is simple: keep it casual, stay focused, win games. Repeat. And it’s been working just fine—until Samantha Westbrook showed up. My best friend’s pesky little sister. The girl who’s had a crush on me since she was ten. Now she’s a freshman at Ridgewater U, and she’s everywhere I go, cockblocking every girl who so much as breathes near me. I spent years brushing her off, telling her to stay… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parental abandonment & neglect
Parental infidelity
Parent with alcoholism, gambling issues & depression
Suicidal ideation
Alcohol consumption & abuse
Drug use & smoking
Sports injury
Death of a parent from cancer (acute myeloid leukemia)
Animal death mentioned (pet)

A Risk on Forever by N.S. Perkins

When Matthias Phillips imagined the new caretaker for his mother with ALS, the last thing he had in mind was a gorgeous twenty-something who didn’t look like she had a day of experience in the field. However, his mother has always been stubborn, and despite his objections, she’s insistent: it’s Adelaide Samson she wants him to hire. After losing her job, Adelaide needs a new gig to continue supporting her family, even if that means working for overprotective and rude Matthias. Once she earns his trust, though, she gets to see a whole other side of him—a funny, sweet… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Parent with depression
Chronic illness (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS))
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a parent recounted (on-page)

The Coldest Winter by Brittainy C. Cherry

I met Milo Corti during his self-destructive era, and he met me during mine. That night when we crossed paths at a college party, we only had one goal in mind: to feel good during our personal hell storms. After we parted ways, I’d planned to never see him again. That was until I showed up to my first day as a student-teacher and I found him sitting right there in front of me.⁣ Now I was forced to cross paths with the person who was meant to be nothing more than a fading memory. The more time we spent together, the more drawn I felt… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Teacher-student relationship
Depression
Grief & loss depiction (theme)

Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Mira is starting over at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that she could act like a functioning human this time, not a girl who can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby. Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn, it’s as if he’s been expecting this blond, lanky boy with mischief glinting in his eye. Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Depression & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Attempted suicide
Alcohol consumption
Drug use & abuse