Drug Use & Abuse – Page 72 – Trigger Warning Database

Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas

In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed. It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.

Her letters are always on black paper with silver writing. Sometimes there’s one a week or three in a day, but I need them. She’s the only one who keeps me on track, talks me down, and accepts everything I am. We only had three rules. No social media, no phone numbers, no pictures. We had a good thing going. Why ruin it? … Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Slut shaming
Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Cheating mentioned
Depression
Drug abuse
Death of a sibling
Bullying

Indirection by Gregory Ashe

Indirection by Gregory Ashe

Shaw Aldrich and his best friend, boyfriend, and partner, North McKinney, are doing great, thanks. The aftermath of their search for the Slasher has finally settled down. Their private investigation agency is thriving. And after years of missed opportunities, they’re finally together. Sure, work might be taking up every spare minute, and their time together as a couple might have evaporated—but that’s normal, right?

When an author asks for their help investigating threats against a gay romance convention, Shaw sees an opportunity to shake up their routine and maybe have some fun. But the convention isn’t what he expects. Between the rabid fans and the backbiting authors, the death threats… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language
Homomisia
Bimisia
Sexual assault
Domestic violence mentioned
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Suicidal ideation mentioned
Drug use mentioned

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou’s seven volumes of autobiography are a testament to the talents and resilience of this extraordinary writer. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a black woman she has known discrimination and extreme poverty, but also hope and joy, achievement and celebration. In this first volume of her autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evoker her childhood with her grandmother in the American South of the 1930s. She learns the power of the white folks at the other end of town and suffers the terrible trauma of rape by her mother’s lover.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & racial slurs
White supremacy & mentions of the Klu Klux Klan
Sexism
Rape of a child
Sexual assault
Chronic bronchitis
Alcohol consumption
Smoking
Dead body
Murder
Physical assault

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

Forty years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll history. Her story is one of a girl who struggled against rules and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic female musicians in American history, who died at twenty-seven.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Overdose

Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews

Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews

Troy Tanner walks out on his boy band’s world tour rather than watching his little brother snort his life away. Screw it. He’ll take a private jet home and figure out his life away from the spotlight.

But Troy doesn’t make it home.

The plane crashes on a jungle island in the South Pacific. Forget dodging the paparazzi—now Troy’s desperate for food and water. The turquoise ocean and white sand beach looks like paradise, but danger lurks everywhere. Thank God the pilot survived too. At least Troy’s not alone. He has Brian… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Substance addiction
Drug abuse

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.

Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her.. Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Recreational drug use
Cancer (leukemia)

The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori

The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori

Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.

Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint. They say first impressions are everything . . .

In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Arranged marriage
Recreational drug use, off-page
Murder
Blackmail

In the Unlikely Event by LJ Shen

In the Unlikely Event by L.J. Shen

A one-night stand in a foreign land. We signed a contract on the back of a Boar’s Head Pub napkin that said if we ever met again, we would drop everything and be together. Eight years and thousands of miles later, he’s here. In New York. And he’s America’s music obsession. The intangible Irish poet who brings record executives to their knees. The blizzard in my perfect, unshaken snow globe. Last time we spoke, he was a beggar with no intention of becoming a king. I’m not the same broken princess Malachy Doherty put back together with his callused hands… but Mal kept the napkin.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Domestic abuse recounted
Grey-area cheating
Suicide mentioned
Alcoholism
Drug abuse
Abortion mentioned
Cancer

The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Tiffany D Jackson

The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz & Tiffany D. Jackson

No one can be at peace until he has his freedom.

In Charlestown Prison, Malcolm Little struggles with the weight of his past. Plagued by nightmares, Malcolm drifts through days unsure of his future. Slowly, he befriends other prisoners and writes to his family. He reads all the books in the prison library, joins the debate team and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm grapples with race, politics, religion, and justice in the 1940s. And as his time in jail comes to an end, he begins to awaken — emerging from prison more than just Malcolm Little: Now, he is Malcolm X.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism & white supremacy
Suicide mentioned
Alcohol consumption
Recreational drug use
Police brutality
Death row executions mentioned

Life of the Party by Olivia Gatwood

Life of the Party by Olivia Gatwood

In Life of the Party, Olivia Gatwood she weaves together her own coming of age with an investigation into our culture’s romanticization of violence against women. In precise, searing language—at times blistering and riotous, at times soulful and exuberant—she explores the boundary between what is real and what is imagined in a life saturated with fear. How does one grow from a girl to a woman in a world wracked by violence? Where is the line between perpetrator and victim? What is the meaning of bravery? Visceral and haunting, this multifaceted collection illustrates that what happens to our bodies makes us who we are

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Racism
Misogyny
Sexual assault
Sexual harassment
Self harm
Alcohol consumption
Smoking
Cancer
Murder