Brave Face: A Memoir

A detailed but not gory description of attempted suicide and the medical and psychiatric treatment received for it. Frequent mention of self-harm like cutting arms and legs, carving a word into his chest, and punching walls or filing cabinets; blood and bruising are mentioned but not described. One detailed description of cutting himself. A sexual assault describes kissing, rubbing a penis a few times on a leg still wearing pants and ejaculating on the pants. Teens talk briefly about wanting to kill themselves. Mention that in elementary school he was beaten with a sandal by the vice principal, he scraped his arm with an eraser until it bled and jumped from high surfaces hoping to break his ankle so he wouldn't have to go to school.

Frank descriptions of kissing and making out with members of both sexes. Mentions that the first time having sex brought up a lot of questions about blow jobs, being a top or bottom, rimming, and biting. He didn't use condoms because he didn't think he was worth it and because he was kind of hoping to die soon anyway. Describes seeing a picture of a naked man's crotch in a sex-education book. Mention of masturbation and uncontrollable erections as a young teen. A religious speaker calls people who have oral sex "sperm sucking" or "vaginal fluid sucking" sinners. Mention of downloading pornography, looking at Playgirl magazine, and fearing a spontaneous orgasm while making out. Getting a reach-around mentioned. Speculates that his mother imagines him having orgies in his bedroom.

"D--k," "f--king," "prick," "s--t," "ass" (body part), "bulls--tting," "fag," faggot," homo," "asshole," "crap," whores," "sluts," "jizz," "bone" (verb), "boner," "steaming hot dump," "couch hump," and an illustration of the middle-finger gesture.

Low-to-moderate drinking in high school mentioned. Later mention of periods of a "party" lifestyle as an adult drinking and doing drugs. A couple of settings in bars. Sipping a beer he doesn't want while his date has three or four beers and later passes out. Imagines someone pictures him "doing coke off a go-go boy's ass." As a teen the author felt that pot, ecstasy, and acid were OK recreational drugs, but cocaine was going too far. Overdose of Tylenol with detailed and harrowing descriptions of its effect, how you would die a slow and painful death from it, and the gross medications and side effects he had to take for it. Took up smoking as a way to meet someone, knowing it was stupid and disgusting. One boy he briefly dated smoked.

Parents need to know that Brave Face: A Memoir is YA author Shaun David Hutchinson's frank look back on his struggles with coming out as gay and with depression during his teen years. It includes a harrowing and detailed description of his attempted suicide, and honest descriptions of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and a sexual assault. Some things are difficult to read, but none of it is glorified; it's meant to help people with similar struggles see that it's OK to ask for help, and to know that although it does get better, getting better takes a long time, a lot of work, and that the road to recovery isn't a straight line. The introduction offers a content warning and resources, websites, and phone numbers for help with depression, suicide, coming out, and more. There are descriptions of both same-sex and opposite-sex kissing and making out. Having sex isn't directly narrated, but body parts, positions, and specific acts are mentioned. Besides frank words for body parts like "d--k," other strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "fag," "faggot," and "homo." Brave Face teaches readers a lot about how depression works on your mind and why positive representations that avoid stereotypes are so important in mainstream media. It'll inspire a lot of empathy for people who are hurting because they feel like they can't be themselves, like they're worthless, and like no one understands them or what they're going through.