Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

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

29 reviews

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

lingfish7's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

ambeda's review against another edition

inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

I also appreciate case reports/case studies in a psychodynamic perspective, and this is no different. While the traumatic events these patients/clients experienced aren't given in every graphic detail, big content warning on different types of traumas. Not a lighthearted read but if you've ever provided psychodynamic therapy you can appreciate this. Also if you've ever benefited from therapy, this may also offer some interesting insights. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

There is also some transphobic comments made by a patient (likely a different personality, but still said) and when the therapist reflects the statements back with an interpretation, it also reads a s transphobic and could be triggering to some.

lama_mo's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Grief, and Death of parent

jameyer1216's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

alleemartin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

makinzimyers's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

lauraliz914's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

I absolutely adored this book. I think it’s a more clinically dense, depth-oriented version of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone which I also loved. However, it is not for the faint of heart. I can’t really think of a content warning that wouldn’t apply to this book, so consider yourself warned.

I was so deeply moved by each and every one of these stories. Each person went through hell and are, as Gildiner says, psychological heroes. This book really spells out both the harm people are capable of doing, as well as the resiliency we all possess.

I so appreciate Gildiner’s raw honesty about her own countertransference in each case, including her clinical missteps and clear love for her clients. Her narrative taught me so much about the psychodynamic approach to therapy, and even about my own subconscious processes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Murder

katiejohns's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

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