Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery by Catherine Gildiner

13 reviews

confused_cat's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

This is a story of human resilience and how complex the human brain is.
I read this book in a couple of days (which is very quick for me), skipping some parts that are just too much to read (i.e. Alana's story)
I feel a bit conflicted about this book. Yes, their stories are important. I do wish the people in the story the best of life. But I don't think I will recommend this book to anyone I know. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Incest and Sexual violence

throwback682's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

2.75

As others have mentioned, this book has lots of problems, including the audiobook narrator putting on Chinese and First Nations accents, deadnaming and other transphobic comments, among others. There were just so many times that I cringed. The author at times seemed self aware but often was just painfully out of touch. The book did feel rather exploitative, and often felt fake. I felt like it was particularly insensitive about sexual abuse, for example the way the author distinguished between “violent” sexual abuse and… what?? It’s all violent! I think I agree with other people who called the book trauma porn. I did (enjoy doesn’t seem like the right word) parts of the book. I did gain some understanding into how childhood trauma can impact people, and felt hopeful at times that I and people I love can heal from difficult things. But overall the book felt pretty icky. I’m kind of shocked how many people uncritically loved it. Definitely read with caution especially if you’re a survivor of abuse, especially sexual abuse or child abuse generally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Genocide, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Infidelity, Excrement, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Dementia

This book is all about people who have overcome HORRIFIC things, mostly in their childhoods. It is very very difficult to read.

arantxalasa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

serinehart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.5

I think people's use of the label "trauma porn" is an expression of their own personal sensitivities and morality more than a helpful descriptor. This book is ultimately optimistic in showing therapeutic case studies of individuals who improved into better circumstances, which I found to be an emotional bolster, personally. The author does characterize these stories as those overcoming adversity. But I wonder if the public reception is positive because of the analytic lens to the detailed horrors of these individuals' lives of that of a health care worker. I'm thinking in contrast to Hanya Yanigahara's A Little Life, a work of fiction that describes a character's life details that are entirely similar to Gildiner's clients real lives. Is "trauma porn," i.e., the fear that we or others may get some perverse pleasure in the torture of others, only applicable to stories that are not real, that have a happy ending, or that are perceived to be handled by an author with good intent to serve some (read: higher) purpose? This was something I was thinking about while reading, due to it's obvious similarities to A Little Life and how the content of that book was received by the public as controversial. Which is not to defend "trauma porn" as a genre, but as a label, since it strikes me as entirely subjective. Or possibly symptomatic of a societal squeamishness with the details of trauma, and therefore a lack of understanding or being able to address it properly when it happens in our communities. And my moral sense personally is suspicious of censorship, which doesn't leave room for differences in reading experience or interpretation. But of course be mindful of your own sensitivities.

I've currently been reading and listening to podcasts on therapy cases and transcripts for their optimism and demonstrated conflict resolution in action, especially with how therapists honor people's emotional inner worlds and respond to most everything with compassion and respect, even when disagreeing. This one was challenging to read, but also reassuring in its level-headed approach to lived horrors and plotted progression of clients' improvements, suggesting that no one is so broken that their life cannot be improved. Of course this is an oversimplification, but something I hold on to to counteract my own depression.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

fazington's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

redheadbookgirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

This book. 😮‍💨 This book is 𝗻𝗼𝘁 for the faint of heart and is probably one of the heaviest books I’ve ever read, in terms of material. I cannot stress enough: check the content warnings prior to reading!

Horrifying, astounding and heart wrenching, and yet also fascinating, moving and compelling, this book looks at the true stories of five of Gildiner’s most testing + profound patients. The book is format into five sections, one dedicated to each patient, which allows the reader to become completely immersed in each story. 

The physical + emotional trauma these five patients went through is completely unimaginable, and I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t fiction. Having said that, the incredible resilience they showed and the power of therapy was mind-blowing and I was completely amazed by each patient’s strength and journey of progression. 

I also found it very refreshing to read about Gildiner taking accountability for her mistakes and learning curves throughout her career and educating herself where she lacked knowledge to allow her to help her patients best. 

This is by far one of the most difficult and graphic books I’ve ever read, but if you’re in the right head space and this is something that interests you, I highly recommend reading it!

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𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 ☁️ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment

michellebub's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

2.75

CHECK THE TRIGGER WARININGS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Transphobia

ali_runs_and_reads's review against another edition

5.0

🎧 Good Morning Monster by Catherine Gildiner

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re looking for a compelling non-fiction book, this is it. Catherine Fildiner is a renowned therapist in Canada. In this book she recounts the story of five different patients who changed her life that she considers a hero. Each section of the book follows one patient from the time they enter therapy until they leave, and then a followup when she talked to them about using their story in this book. She goes to great length to conceal identities and maintain her patient’s anonymity. Each story is different. All start out as someone entering therapy who thinks they’re nothing special, but as their story emerges we see they are incredible resilient people. All have been through hell and back and we see how therapy heals them and allows them to grow and live a fulfilling and meaningful life. It made for a great audiobook. These are not easy stories to hear, but all five of her patients truly are heroes. Trigger warnings abound, so proceed with caution. I got this one from the library, but it is also available on Kindle through Kindle Unlimited. I’ve see Good Morning, Monster compared to the book Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, so I’m putting that one on my list. I don’t think I will ever forget the stories in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

florapants84's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

botanicalprofanity's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation