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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
I was so excited to read this book and the first three of the five stories really delivered exactly what I wanted to read: people overcoming their deeply troubled past. Those three stories felt surprisingly distinct with protagonists that were easy to root for and with satisfying conclusions. The last two stories felt like taking different elements from the first three and rehashing them in only slightly different ways which was not only much less novel but even repetitive and uninteresting.
The author specialized in anxiety therapy, and maybe the most extreme cases that she thought were worth writing about are naturally prone to similar root causes, but I didn't really like reading five straight stories of various degrees and flavors of child abuse. It was easy to see from the first couple stories how severe the impacts of childhood trauma/abuse/neglect can be, and as incredible as each person was to overcome their past, I was hoping to read a lot more variety; I think the author got sucked into the trap of including her first and last cases when it's just too unlikely for those to also be the best stories.
This was book number 15 (not including one DNF and one audiobook) for me this year, which I'm super proud of, and my rating standards are definitely higher than they started. I still enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic and style, but if I have to force myself to finish the last 50 pages on the last day before it's due back to the library, I can't give it 4 or more stars.
The author specialized in anxiety therapy, and maybe the most extreme cases that she thought were worth writing about are naturally prone to similar root causes, but I didn't really like reading five straight stories of various degrees and flavors of child abuse. It was easy to see from the first couple stories how severe the impacts of childhood trauma/abuse/neglect can be, and as incredible as each person was to overcome their past, I was hoping to read a lot more variety; I think the author got sucked into the trap of including her first and last cases when it's just too unlikely for those to also be the best stories.
This was book number 15 (not including one DNF and one audiobook) for me this year, which I'm super proud of, and my rating standards are definitely higher than they started. I still enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic and style, but if I have to force myself to finish the last 50 pages on the last day before it's due back to the library, I can't give it 4 or more stars.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Overall I think this is a great example of writing a popular science book for the general public without shying away from touching upon major themes and ideas from the field in which you work. I want to give it 5 stars but I felt that some of the clients felt a bit sensationalized which I get but also is a bit frustrating. That being said, I think that different stories are going to resonate with different people and that is the whole point of a book like this. This is also one of the rare books that I honestly would recommend to just about anybody.
Descriptively dark while outlining the complex trauma her patients faced. Had to put down at times for a break. Once sections got to the emotional healing and recovery, it was quite inspirational. Everyone needs therapy.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Unfortunately I simply could not finish this. The trauma that is retold in this book is incredibly intense. I read the first 3 stories and stopped in the middle of the 4th because listening to her story was making me feel physically ill. I tend to be very sensitive to hearing about traumatic stuff, and as much as I find the therapy side of it fascinating, I couldn’t push through this. My anxiety has been incredibly high and I think reading this is a big reason why :/. I do feel a little torn about whether or not writing about patients is ethical? Mostly in the case of the third patient who has passed away by the time she wrote this book so they couldn’t give their consent. And I also struggle to truly know if parts of this cross the line into trauma porn. I really wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t get through this one.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence