Mental Illness – Page 87 – Trigger Warning Database

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Three years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Christmas tree in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. She would be eight years old now—if she has survived. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, certain someone took her, the Culvers turn to Naomi, a private investigator with an uncanny talent for locating the lost and missing. Known to the police and a select group of parents as “the Child Finder,” Naomi is their last hope. Naomi’s methodical search takes her deep into the icy, mysterious forest in the Pacific Northwest, and into her own fragmented past. She understands children like… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Antiziganism (g slur)
Incest (foster siblings)
Paedophilia, child sexual assault and rape (theme)
Child abuse and neglect
Foster care system experiences recounted
Amnesia and memory loss
Dissociation
Blood and gore depiction
Physical injuries mentioned, including the loss of an arm in an explosion while deployed
Death of a foster mother, off-page and discussed
Death of a wife from cancer mentioned
Death of a wife from suicide mentioned
Accidental infanticide
Murder by stabbing, on-page
Physical assault
Kidnapping and captivity of a child
Incarceration
Graphic animal death and hunting
Animal dead bodies and butchery, on-page

Context : The story follows a private investigator trying to find a missing child. The book is told from her POV, the missing child, and the predator who kidnapped and held the child captive. While there are no on-page scenes of sexual violence, it is clear that the captor sexually abuses and rapes the child. It is vaguely mentioned through metaphors and lyrical writing from the child’s perspective; as well as mentions of pain and blood on her legs. The predator was also raped by his captor as a child. Again, there are no on-page scenes of this.

A secondary character leaves her baby in their stroller on a bus that is parked in storage. It is unclear how the baby dies but the protagonist finds his body (off-page, no descriptions).

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

The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz

The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz

Owen Mann is charming, privileged, and chronically dissatisfied. Luna Grey is secretive, cautious, and pragmatic. Despite their differences, they begin forming a bond the moment they meet in college. Their names soon become indivisible–Owen and Luna, Luna and Owen–and stay that way even after an unexplained death rocks their social circle. Years later, they’re still best friends when Luna finds Owen’s wife brutally murdered. The police investigation sheds some light on long-hidden secrets, but it can’t penetrate the wall of mystery that surrounds Owen. To get to… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Infidelity
Depression
Abortion
Murder

The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson

The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson

Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job—her company Buxom Boudoir makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie’s best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own dangerously dreamy lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign. But company politics and Dana’s complicated pregnancy interfere, and Cassie finds herself—a proud plus-size Black woman—not behind the camera but in front of it… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger and Content Warnings

Racism, fatphobia & sexism
Parental abandonment recounted
Gambling addiction (secondary character)
Alcohol consumption
High-risk pregnancy mentioned (secondary character)

16 Steps to Forever by Georgia Beers

16 Steps to Forever by Georgia Beers

If there’s one thing Brooke Sullivan knows for sure it’s that people let you down, but that hasn’t stopped her from going after the life she wants. In a new city, with a new job and a new start as a high-end real estate agent, she’s finally back on her feet. The last thing she needs is a distraction. Not her volatile neighbours, not a damn stray cat, and certainly not the flaky, infuriatingly adorkable girl-next-door property stager she has to work with. Macy Carr believes in soul mates and true love. She knows because she had it all until a freak accident took the love of her life… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia
Panic attack

11 Paper Hearts by Kelsey Hartwell

11 Paper Hearts by Kelsey Hartwell

Ella’s life was picture perfect. She had a circle of close friends, a jam-packed social life, and an amazing boyfriend. But then something completely unexpected happened: a car accident after a Valentine’s Day dance. When Ella woke up in the hospital, she couldn’t remember the accident . . . or anything about the weeks before it, including the reason she broke up with her boyfriend. Now, a year later, she begins receiving paper hearts from a mysterious admirer who seems to have the answers she craves. Ella is intrigued. The hearts contain clues to help Ella remember her… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Retrograde amnesia
Physical injuries
Car accident

*Context: The protagonist suffers from memory loss (retrograde amnesia) as a result of head injuries sustained during a car accident.

100 Days of Cake by Shari Goldhagen

100 Days of Cake by Shari Goldhagen

There are only three things that can get seventeen-year-old Molly Byrne out of bed these days: her job at FishTopia, the promise of endless episodes of Golden Girls, and some delicious lo mien. You see, for the past two years, Molly’s been struggling with something more than your usual teenage angst. Her shrink, Dr Brooks isn’t helping much, and neither is her mom who is convinced that baking the perfect cake will cure Molly of her depression—as if cake can magically make her rejoin the swim team, get along with her promiscuous sister, or care about the SATs… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Depression

Head of the River by Pip Harry

Head of the River by Pip Harry

It’s the most elite school sporting event in the country. Nine rowers, 2000 gruelling metres and one chance for glory in the ultimate team sport. Sit forward … ROW. Tall, gifted and the offspring of Olympians, superstar siblings Leni and Cristian Popescu are set to row Harley Grammar to victory in the Head of the River. With six months until the big race, the twins can’t lose. Or can they? When Cristian is seduced by the easy route of performance-enhancing drugs, and Leni is suffocated with self-doubt, their bright futures start to fade. Juggling family, high expectations, study… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Eating isorder

Because of You by Pip Harry

Because of You by Pip Harry

Tiny is homeless. Nola has everything she could ask for. They meet when Nola is forced into volunteer work for the writers’ group at the homeless shelter where Tiny is staying, and at first, it seems impossible that two people who are so different could ever be friends. But despite her initial prejudice, Nola quickly learns that there isn’t much separating her from the people who live on the streets. And Tiny begins to see that falling down doesn’t mean you never get back up. Because of You is a story about homelessness, prejudice and the power of words to provide a little hope… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Homomisia
Post-natal depression
Substance addiction
Suicidal ideation
Drug abuse
Death of a friend
Homelessness

The Little Wave by Pip Harry

The Little Wave by Pip Harry

When a Manly school sets out to bring a country class to the city for a beach visit, three very different kids find each other and themselves. Noah is fearless in the surf. Being at the beach makes him feel free. So where does his courage go when his best mate pushes him around? Lottie loves collecting facts about bugs, but she wishes her dad would stop filling their lonely house with junk. She doesn’t know what to do about it. Jack wants to be a cricket star, but first he has to get to school and look after his little sister. Especially if he wants to go on the class trip and see the ocean for the first time.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

Parent with Hoarding Disorder
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a mother & wife recounted
Near-drowning recounted