Tag Archives: Mental Illness

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of mental illness.

See also Anxiety, Panic attacks, Suicide, Self-harm, Phobias, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Addiction.

Starlings by Amanda Linsmeier

Kit’s father had always told her he had no family, but four months ago his sudden death revealed the truth. Now she has a grandmother she never knew she had–Agatha Starling–and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown, Rosemont.

And Rosemont… it’s picture perfect: the famed eternal roses bloom year-round, downtown is straight out of the 1950s… there’s even a cute guy to show Kit around… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Anxiety
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Drugging
  • Emesis, on-page
  • Starvation & cannibalism recounted
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a father recounted
  • Murder
  • Kidnapping
  • Drowning

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Parental abandonment
  • Child abuse and neglect recounted
  • Foster care experiences
  • Emotionally abusive relationship recounted
  • Munchausen by Proxy mentioned*
  • Alcoholism and substance addiction recovery (love interest)
  • Alcohol consumption & abuse
  • Unplanned pregnancy & miscarriage mentioned
  • Sibling with terminal cancer
  • Death of a brother from complications during heart surgery recounted
  • Financial and housing insecurity

*Context: The protagonist learns her sister’s childhood chronic illness was the result of her parents’ attempts to keep her sick. Discussions of children in foster care due to abusive alcoholic parents and parents’ deaths from overdoses.

Everybody’s Favorite by Lillian Stone

Lilian Stone—childhood evangelical, AOL girlfriend, and professional nail biter is always living on the edge of anxiety. From the pitfalls of a girl plagued by religious trauma, the incomprehensible yet unforgiving need for perfection, and a twenty-pound beagle she never meant to keep, Everybody’s Favorite is a refreshing story of what it means to pick yourself when the world is telling you otherwise. Still navigating the ins and outs of adulthood, accompanied by an obsessive-compulsive disorder that’s become an exercise in self-acceptance and thus compassion… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Religious trauma
  • Eating disorder
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Bullying

Congratulations, the Best is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

After going viral “reading” the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas is ready to live his best life–or, if not, at least his best-ish life.

Now, in this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas finds himself doing things completely out of character, starting with moving back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore. They say you can’t go home again, but what if you and home have changed beyond recognition?.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Depression & anxiety
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Cancer mentioned
  • Blood & injury depiction
  • Death of grandparents from a stroke
  • Death of a father-in-law from a heart attack

They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta

An Indian American daughter reveals how the dangerous model minority myth fractured her family in this searing, brave memoir.

How do we understand ourselves when the story about who we are supposed to be is stronger than our sense of self? What do we stand to gain — and lose — by taking control of our narrative? These questions propel Prachi Gupta’s heartfelt memoir and can feel particularly fraught for immigrants and their children who live under immense pressure to belong in America… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Sexual assault
  • Domestic abuse
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation

Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford

From “weird, scary, ingenious” ( The New York Times ) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems—from Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs.

Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Suicidal ideation
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & intrusive thoughts
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Eating disorder (bulimia)
  • Death of a pet

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Raised in a conservative and emotionally volatile Palestinian family in Brooklyn, Yara thought she would finally feel free when she married a charming entrepreneur who took her to the suburbs. She’s gotten to follow her dreams, completing an undergraduate degree in Art and landing a good job at the local college. As a traditional wife, she also raises their two school-aged daughters, takes care of the house, and has dinner ready when her husband gets home. With her family balanced with her professional ambitions, Yara knows that her life is infinitely more rewarding than her own mother’s. So why doesn’t it feel like enough?.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexism
  • Racism
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Anxiety & depression

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger

Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard.

But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding—a heavily medicated mother hospitalized… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Domestic violence
  • Child neglect
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Parent with Bipolar Disorder
  • Death of a child from suicide

The Prince & the Apocalypse by Kara McDowell

Wren Wheeler has flown five thousand miles across the ocean to discover she’s the worst kind of traveler: the kind who just wants to go home. Her senior-year trip to London was supposed to be life-changing, but by the last day, Wren’s perfectly-planned itinerary is in tatters. There’s only one item left to check off: breakfast at The World’s End restaurant. The one thing she can still get right.

The restaurant is closed for renovations—of course—but there’s a boy there, too. A very cute boy with a posh British accent… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Depression

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.

And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism
  • Parental abandonment
  • Infidelity*
  • Divorce recounted
  • Miscarriage recounted
  • Emesis
  • Sibling with end-stage renal failure and autoimmune disease
  • Anxiety & panic attacks, on-page
  • Depression

*Context: The female protagonist’s ex-husband cheated on her with her friends.