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jbl7701 's review for:
Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery
by Catherine Gildiner
In this book Dr Catherine Gildiner, a Canadian therapist, recounts her work with five former adult patients. Laura, Peter, Danny, Alana and Madeline all start therapy with Dr. Gildiner for a variety of different reasons. While the patients come to Dr. Gildiner seeing help to work through seemly standard issues such as stress, anxiety, intimacy issues, as the therapy sessions unfold the reader is taken deeper into the lives of each patient. Dr. Gildiner gets each person to recognize deeper trauma stretching back to childhood and in some cases generations.
The five people chronicled in the book spend years meeting with Dr. Gildiner to uncover the root causes for their struggles. At times it was difficult to read about the abandonment, pedophilia, physical and mental abuses the patients were subjected to during their childhoods. As a reader it is easy to be shocked, outraged and angry at the horrific experiences. Secrecy and shame is often associated with many of the events that happened to the people profiled in the book leading to less positive outcome, yet each person worked hard to achieve happiness and peace. I had to keep in mind while the book was written in present day, the work Dr. Gildiner did with her patients took place 20-30 years ago, and the traumas the patients were recounting in some cases happened 50 years ago. It also made me realize while society is more willing to talk about uncomfortable topics, there are still many people who fall victim to terrible people today.
As I read each person’s journey, I was amazed at their ability to work hard and rise up from their pasts. The group as a whole had constant challenges as children and adults where their strength and resilience were constantly put to the test, yet each of Dr Gildiner’s patients ultimately overcome adversities. Dr. Gildiner was truly invested in her patients she was able to reflect, learn and grow as a therapist. While the subject matter could be difficult at time, each person profiled is a survivor.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
The five people chronicled in the book spend years meeting with Dr. Gildiner to uncover the root causes for their struggles. At times it was difficult to read about the abandonment, pedophilia, physical and mental abuses the patients were subjected to during their childhoods. As a reader it is easy to be shocked, outraged and angry at the horrific experiences. Secrecy and shame is often associated with many of the events that happened to the people profiled in the book leading to less positive outcome, yet each person worked hard to achieve happiness and peace. I had to keep in mind while the book was written in present day, the work Dr. Gildiner did with her patients took place 20-30 years ago, and the traumas the patients were recounting in some cases happened 50 years ago. It also made me realize while society is more willing to talk about uncomfortable topics, there are still many people who fall victim to terrible people today.
As I read each person’s journey, I was amazed at their ability to work hard and rise up from their pasts. The group as a whole had constant challenges as children and adults where their strength and resilience were constantly put to the test, yet each of Dr Gildiner’s patients ultimately overcome adversities. Dr. Gildiner was truly invested in her patients she was able to reflect, learn and grow as a therapist. While the subject matter could be difficult at time, each person profiled is a survivor.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.