Scan barcode
wholeottabooks's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
Synopsis: A Korean woman working in publishing seeks out professional help for mental health concerns about self criticism, depression, isolation, and more. She records her sessions with her therapist and transcribes them into a compilation which is the bulk of this book.
My thoughts: I’ll start by saying this… it feels really wrong to rate a memoir. I was really looking forward to this book. As a MSW student training to be a clinician, this book really peaked my interest. A woman being extremely vulnerable with her inner most thoughts? Sign me up! I went in with the expectations of a lot of the author’s self reflection, depth, and some sort of processing or analysis. This book is exactly as I wrote in the synopsis and not much more... a transcribed copy of segments of her time with a therapist. Although the author was self reflective, there was little to no processing of anything she was absorbing or learning from her sessions. The transcripts just bounced from concern to concern and then ended off with a set of brief essays that were irrelevant to the first half of the book. I’m extremely disappointed in this book and know and hope that others will find it valuable. But as someone already in the mental health field I didn’t find anything new or worthwhile. As someone going into the field of MH, I found it extremely violating that the author would publish these transcripts without her therapists consent. Yes, she asked for permission to record the sessions but the therapist agreed because she mentioned that she uses them because she struggles with remembering what was said. Therefore, in my opinion, the therapist gave consent to what her true intentions were (or what her new intentions were if that wasn’t her initial intention). This irked me and it hurt hearing the therapists reaction to learning about the published transcripts of their sessions. Overall, there are better texts that depict the struggles of mental illness and I would not recommend this one.
My thoughts: I’ll start by saying this… it feels really wrong to rate a memoir. I was really looking forward to this book. As a MSW student training to be a clinician, this book really peaked my interest. A woman being extremely vulnerable with her inner most thoughts? Sign me up! I went in with the expectations of a lot of the author’s self reflection, depth, and some sort of processing or analysis. This book is exactly as I wrote in the synopsis and not much more... a transcribed copy of segments of her time with a therapist. Although the author was self reflective, there was little to no processing of anything she was absorbing or learning from her sessions. The transcripts just bounced from concern to concern and then ended off with a set of brief essays that were irrelevant to the first half of the book. I’m extremely disappointed in this book and know and hope that others will find it valuable. But as someone already in the mental health field I didn’t find anything new or worthwhile. As someone going into the field of MH, I found it extremely violating that the author would publish these transcripts without her therapists consent. Yes, she asked for permission to record the sessions but the therapist agreed because she mentioned that she uses them because she struggles with remembering what was said. Therefore, in my opinion, the therapist gave consent to what her true intentions were (or what her new intentions were if that wasn’t her initial intention). This irked me and it hurt hearing the therapists reaction to learning about the published transcripts of their sessions. Overall, there are better texts that depict the struggles of mental illness and I would not recommend this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
anafuentes's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.0
I was really intrigued by this book initially because I related to what the author was going through. However, I didn’t find a lot of depth. The transcriptions with the therapist were interesting at first but I began to lose interest without more analysis and introspection regarding these sessions.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
shushkeepitdown's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
This book feels like a call out at me because I also related to some of her problems but at the same time when I continued reading I kept thinking at random points 'wow this person is kind of a dick' and I think that's the point to some extent. Due to her problems she faced now she looks at the world in a very black and white way. I love that she decided to get help to improve her thinking and her issues, most usually won't and that's why I think this book is ok. It isn't too triggering but it talks about heavy topics so be careful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Racism, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
sketchydelusion's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Dysphoria, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
More...