Dear Reader,
Below you will find trigger warnings for my novels. I hope they can serve as a useful tool to help you engage with my work in a way that is safe for you and your mental health. If you believe a warning should be added, please reach out via the contact page to suggest an addition. And please note that the warnings WILL contain spoilers for the events of the novels. Thank you for reading.
Warmly,
Ashley Blooms
Where I Can’t Follow
Chapter Eleven: Carver speaks of living with drug users and the effect it had on him.
Chapter Sixteen: Mentions of Karen’s previous drug use.
Chapter Twenty-Six: At the Well there are many people using drugs.
Chapter Four: Mentions of Maren’s mother’s (Nell’s) alcoholism and how it affected Maren as a child.
Chapter Eleven: Mentions of Carver drinking in the past as a way to cope.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Memories from Maren’s childhood including mentions of Nell’s alcoholism.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Mentions of Nell’s alcoholism.
Chapter Thirty-Three: In the conversation between Maren and Granny there are mentions of Nell’s drinking and its impact on both Maren and Granny.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: In a journal entry Nell mentions drinking before coming to pick Maren up.
Chapter Seven: Details of Julie’s previous therapy, including her use of a rubber band to flick her wrist when she had negative thoughts.
Chapter Seventeen: Julie and Maren argue and during their fight some harsh words are used about Julie’s mental illness.
Chapter Twenty-Six: At the Well Maren and Julie have a confrontation that includes discussion of Julie’s mental illness.
Chapter Seven: Maren contemplates taking her little door, including thoughts akin to suicidal ideation; mention of Julie’s previous suicide attempt and Maren’s reaction to it.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Maren contemplates taking her little door, including thoughts akin to suicidal ideation; when Julie arrives she and Maren discuss Julie’s previous suicide attempt.
Chapter Thirty: Mention of Julie’s mother’s death, which was ruled an accident but was also assumed by many people to have been intentional.
Chapter Sixteen: Karen has a bruised eye from an incident of domestic violence that occurred recently and she speaks of it briefly.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Karen mentions another altercation with her ex-husband.
Every Bone a Prayer
Chapter 4: Dialogue implies that William may have been sexually abused by a family member in the past.
Chapter 21: After they talk beside the garden, William leads Misty to the barn and molests her for the first time. While little graphic detail of the event is given, there is a strong focus on Misty’s reaction and thoughts.
Chapter 24: In the second scene, William molests Misty again. Some physical details are provided, but the focus is again on Misty’s reaction and thoughts. Dialogue also implies that William may have been sexually abused by a family member in the past.
Chapter 31: William takes Misty to the barn three times, but these events are summarized in one scene and no explicit detail is given aside from some dialogue from William and Misty’s reaction to the statues that grow afterward.
Chapter 36: About midway through the scene, Misty agrees to speak with William outside. The abuse is mentioned in their conversation as Misty attempts to confront William. There is a brief chase scene afterward, but Misty escapes.
Chapter 40: Mentions of and some brief flashback memories of the abuse are scattered throughout.
Epilogue: Mentions of the abuse are scattered throughout.
Chapter 18: Misty’s mother whips Misty and Penny with a switch (a thin limb taken from a tree or bush). The whipping is detailed for both girls, including physical descriptions of the pain and blood that results.
Chapter 26: Misty’s father comes home briefly. He is loud, argumentative. He rips down the green strings that their mother used to track the green light, then takes a baseball bat outside. He attempts to destroy the statues. But no matter how many time he hits them, nothing happens. Earl retrieves a gun from his house, shoots it into the air to make their father stop, which he does.
Chapter 34: When talking to Misty during the revival, the garden mentions physical violence between Earl and Caroline, though the violence does not take place in scene.
Chapter 36: While running through the woods, Misty experiences a memory that the garden has about the night that Caroline died. This memory contains some implied physical violence, though the act is not directly described.
Chapter 40: Mentions of and some brief descriptions of the physical violence between Earl and Caroline are scattered throughout.
Chapter 21: Misty speaks to the garden and the garden lies during their conversation—claiming that Misty had done something that she hadn’t. Misty can’t remember exactly what happened so she accepts the garden’s story even though she feels confused and uncomfortable.
Chapter 8: The second scene in the chapter takes place at an Evangelical church service, though the scene is more focused on dialogue between Misty’s mother and her aunts.
Chapter 27: After dropping Penny off at Dolly’s, Misty and her mother go to a prayer service nearby. Most of the chapter consists of this service where the preacher and members of the congregation lay hands on Misty to pray for her. The experience is detailed closely, as is Misty’s reaction. Scene also contains speaking in tongues.
Chapter 34: The second scene contains the Revival service that takes place beside Earl’s garden, which includes women in the congregation being touched by the Holy Ghost and dancing in the Spirit.
Chapter 27: After Misty comes home from the prayer service with her mother, she is distraught. The garden speaks to her and Misty asks for help in changing herself—she wants to be like the crawdads’ molted bodies, light and empty. The garden teaches Misty how to rename other things by taking part of her name and joining it with theirs. Misty succeeds and sheds her skin, leaving only her bones behind. Her senses are altered by this, though she can still see and hear and smell—but only vaguely.
Chapter 28: In the third scene, after talking to Penny, Misty takes her skin off again. At the end of the scene she tries to pull her skin back on, but it’s much harder. Her bones have grown while her skin stayed the same. They don’t quite fit anymore and Misty struggles to get back into her body. She succeeds, but is left exhausted and sore.
Chapter 33: Misty sheds her skin again. Like before, she has to fight to re-enter her body, and the result is even more painful than last time.
Chapter 37 & 38: Contain descriptions of the last time Misty leaves her body.
Chapter 30: Jem speaks of a family member’s death.
Chapter 36: While running through the woods, Misty experiences a memory that the garden has about the night that Caroline died.
Chapter 40: Mentions of character deaths.