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vtranreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
A transparent perspective from both sides of the chair. Honest and does not shy away from very harsh things that so many need support to process as part of life. I believe anyone dealing with grief would resonate with these stories.
ptstewart's review against another edition
4.0
The more you welcome your vulnerability, the less afraid you’ll be.
You can have compassion without forgiving. There are many ways to move on, and pretending to feel a certain way isn’t one of them.
I find Maybe You Should Talk To Someone very difficult to review for a few reasons, the first of which is that I like it so much. Blending personal stories, client sessions (and growth), and therapeutic theory and wisdom, Gottlieb takes our hand and pulls us headfirst into the deep ends of her characters’ lives. Principle to being a therapist and commented on many times is the fact that therapists are likely to get to know their clients more intimately than many, many people in the clients’ lives. As Gottlieb gains greater empathy and understanding of her clients, we begin to love them more, too, cheering for them as they reach acceptance or they grow. There is no escaping the weight of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, as even the most surface level problems are often linked to deep, long lasting pain.
From a narrative standpoint, some of the structure really works. Perhaps modeled after therapy, many of the most impactful aspects of individuals’ stories are withheld until—surprise!—the reader experiences the bombshell of implications right along with Gottlieb. This maintains interest and engagement in the reader, and it works well.
I have to comment alternatively that I am unsure if the sporadic peppering of therapeutic insight and background was formulated in the best means possible. In truth, I don’t know. This may be a detail Gottlieb and her editors struggled with—I have to mention the stages of change; where the fuck do I do that?—and there just wasn’t a satisfactory conclusion. The inclusion of therapeutic insight is clearly necessary to the book; the absorption of much of the work that is being done benefits from such context, but that doesn’t stop such sections from feeling occasionally clunky and out of place.
Finally, I think it is difficult to identify perspectives held by Gottlieb as a therapist and perspectives agreed upon by the psychological community. This is not to say by any means that Gottlieb’s assessments of various emotional experiences such as grief and death and overall change are necessarily inaccurate or even harmful; rather, this is to comment that a non-student or non-professional may not be able to identify concepts presented from a unique (though, admittedly, not unhealthy or inaccurate) perspective in relation to concepts presented from an agreed upon empirical perspective.
In totality, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone is rife with the aspect Gottlieb was going for: meaning; and it is because of this that the book is so enjoyable and impactful as a read.
You can have compassion without forgiving. There are many ways to move on, and pretending to feel a certain way isn’t one of them.
I find Maybe You Should Talk To Someone very difficult to review for a few reasons, the first of which is that I like it so much. Blending personal stories, client sessions (and growth), and therapeutic theory and wisdom, Gottlieb takes our hand and pulls us headfirst into the deep ends of her characters’ lives. Principle to being a therapist and commented on many times is the fact that therapists are likely to get to know their clients more intimately than many, many people in the clients’ lives. As Gottlieb gains greater empathy and understanding of her clients, we begin to love them more, too, cheering for them as they reach acceptance or they grow. There is no escaping the weight of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, as even the most surface level problems are often linked to deep, long lasting pain.
From a narrative standpoint, some of the structure really works. Perhaps modeled after therapy, many of the most impactful aspects of individuals’ stories are withheld until—surprise!—the reader experiences the bombshell of implications right along with Gottlieb. This maintains interest and engagement in the reader, and it works well.
I have to comment alternatively that I am unsure if the sporadic peppering of therapeutic insight and background was formulated in the best means possible. In truth, I don’t know. This may be a detail Gottlieb and her editors struggled with—I have to mention the stages of change; where the fuck do I do that?—and there just wasn’t a satisfactory conclusion. The inclusion of therapeutic insight is clearly necessary to the book; the absorption of much of the work that is being done benefits from such context, but that doesn’t stop such sections from feeling occasionally clunky and out of place.
Finally, I think it is difficult to identify perspectives held by Gottlieb as a therapist and perspectives agreed upon by the psychological community. This is not to say by any means that Gottlieb’s assessments of various emotional experiences such as grief and death and overall change are necessarily inaccurate or even harmful; rather, this is to comment that a non-student or non-professional may not be able to identify concepts presented from a unique (though, admittedly, not unhealthy or inaccurate) perspective in relation to concepts presented from an agreed upon empirical perspective.
In totality, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone is rife with the aspect Gottlieb was going for: meaning; and it is because of this that the book is so enjoyable and impactful as a read.
shayfloreadz's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely loved. Really made me feel seem and also made me think a lot
sonny_angel's review against another edition
5.0
John and Wendell face reveal please! John is an onion!
jilyne's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I’ve ever read. I loved the honesty of a therapist sharing her journey of seeing her own therapist. So many raw and real stories we can all relate to and the human emotions and struggles that connect us all. I especially loved when she made a connected between what she was discussing with her therapist and what she helps her patients navigate through. It’s so much easier to give advice but when you’re the one living it, we’re so blinded by our emotions and feelings. Absolutely LOVED!
manjala's review against another edition
5.0
This book came into my life at the perfect moment. There were so many themes and experiences that hit right home and made me feel even more connected to my own healing process.
Books like these teach me again what it's like to be part of the human race-- we are all connected, in our innately human experiences, and our emotions and vulnerability.
Books like these teach me again what it's like to be part of the human race-- we are all connected, in our innately human experiences, and our emotions and vulnerability.
tiarast's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Fabulous. The way Gottlieb presents several vignettes— a woman struggling to come to terms with her own mortality after a live well lived, yet cut short, a woman who faces what’s left of her life after a lifetime of sorrow and regret, a man initially an asshole who is really on his own journey of grief and acceptance, and the author herself, a therapist who realizes she needs therapy herself—led me to laugh and cry at various points in this book. Plot wise, the pacing is brisk, but never feels choppy or sudden; I found myself constantly turning the pages to find out what happened next to the lively cast of characters. Gottlieb does a fantastic job of presenting the Hero’s Journey without too much sappiness. It feels incredibly authentic, like it really came from her heart. In a weird way, despite being a 20-something reading about these adults grappling with various life stages, it felt like this book was meant to be read by me at this very moment just because of how familiar a lot of these individuals’ struggles were to my own life and those of the people around me. Beyond the incredibly rich storytelling that I think could really touch anyone’s heart, she also introduces concepts about therapy and insights about what it’s like to be a therapist seamlessly as she is crafting her narrative. The impact this book had on me was so profound that I was inspired to pick up therapy again after overwhelmingly negative experiences. Spectacular all around.
quinnt123's review against another edition
5.0
Probably one of my fave reads of the past couple of years. I wanted it to keep going and was grateful it was long! As someone who has seen a therapist, it was really interesting to see sessions from another perspective. It also deepened my own understanding of my experience. Now, I’m onto listening to her podcast!
bueshrita's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5