Life Lines: Are Trigger Warnings Necessary?
Q:
I wrote a biography about my mother’s life, Ida’s Secrets. After reading it, a couple of people mentioned that certain sections of the book were difficult to read. The book does address topics like trauma and suicide because those were realities in my mother’s life.
I’m currently writing a book of historical fiction that has several equally "dark" chapters. What do you think about content that could trigger some readers? Should there be some type of warning? I never want to hurt anyone, and yet there’s so much that could potentially impact a reader. —Grace Bubulka
A:
My short answer to your question is that it depends on your intended audience. If your intended audience is fellow trauma survivors, for example, I don’t think you need to warn the reader about trauma content. But if your intended audience is your young grandchildren, such as in a book of life stories or a memoir, and you write about personal or family trauma, you might want to prep them with a warning at the start of a book or project.
Our offspring often don’t see us as multidimensional people, especially before they’ve reached adulthood themselves, so it could be useful to include a trigger warning or preface that primes them for what’s to come and reminds them of your humanity. And then there’s this regarding family members: Your story is also their story. It’s a good rule of thumb to keep that truth close to heart as we write and present our personal stories to family. I don’t mean we ought to censor ourselves; just that if we want our personal stories to be received with understanding, it’s best to write them with the same.
I posed your question to my life story writing students, who write and hear sensitive and difficult stories every time we meet—such is the nature of honest autobiographical writing. The consensus in that group was that trigger warnings on books are unnecessary. That’s what book descriptions are for, the class generally agreed. Plus, several people pointed out, the reader has the right and the ability to set a book aside temporarily or abandon it altogether if it gets too intense.
Many of us shared the experience of finding written stories about emotionally difficult topics easier to consume than similar stories delivered through film and television. The latter tend to be faster paced and can overwhelm not just the viewer’s emotions but also the senses of sight and hearing. In addition, movie posters, television stations, and streaming services don’t offer thorough content descriptions. Trigger warnings on the screen serve a greater purpose.
I’m currently working with a memoirist, Scott Taylor, who includes ratings at the start of his chapters to indicate their level of gruesomeness. Scott worked in the mortuary business for many years, so you can imagine the stories he gathered. The intended audience for Scott’s book (working title Dead Body Guy) is readers who enjoy gore and death-adjacent topics, so the rating system might not be absolutely necessary. I do, however, think he’s providing a kind service for any unsuspecting readers. His ratings also add a fun dimension to the book.
Speaking of kindness, we writers make lots of decisions out of consideration for our reader. We use proper grammar, we write clear and easy-to-follow sentences, we fact-check our own memories, we build suspense, we punctuate dialogue, we insert paragraph breaks, we come up with catchy titles, and the list goes on. We do most of the aforementioned on autopilot—that’s just what writing is. But the reason we’ve trained ourselves to write in this way is out of care for our reader. We write so readers will understand. We use techniques that enable them to enjoy our work. If you feel your reader will be best served by a trigger warning, Grace, consider it a kindness.
One more thought on kindness. Your readers care about you as well, especially the readers who know you personally. When someone tells you it was difficult to read parts of your book, that isn’t necessarily a criticism or a cry for help. That could be the reader’s way of letting you know your book moved them. It could be their version of letting you know they care about you and, by extension, the circumstances your mother endured and overcame in her life.
A word on fiction, which is what you’re working on now. While I don’t write or edit fiction, I do consume it. I remember reading a trigger warning at the start of Saba Tahir’s YA novel All My Rage. I loved this book, but I did contemplate setting it aside at one point when its adolescent protagonist was experiencing unbearable stress and pain. I think Tahir’s decision to warn her young adult readers at the outset about the book’s more distressing content was a responsible one. This is how the warning appears in the front matter of All My Rage:
Dear Reader,
Please be aware that All My Rage contains content that may be triggering. For a list of content, please see the next page.
Then, on the next page:
All My Rage contains the following content: drug and alcohol addiction, physical abuse, Islamophobia, mentions of repressed sexual assault, tense exchange with law enforcement, death.
If you feel strongly for or against trigger warnings in books, or if you’ve included one in your own book, tell us about it in the comments.
If you have a question for me about memoir or life story writing, about writing in general, or about publishing, use the contact form HERE or email me: hello@sararoahen.com. Let me know whether you’d like me to use your name, a pseudonym, initials, or a pithy handle.
Yours in putting memories on the page,
Sara