Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

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

6 reviews

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

zoeysdigest's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

A very informative and moving read. It was easier to follow than Maybe you should talk to someone as the ‘case studies’ were clearly segmented, it was also less about the therapist’s own life. However, the characters had more triggering and extreme issues that made reading difficult at times. Would caution all to read up on the content warnings before proceeding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

adrianna_0623's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

3.0

massive tw, proceed with caution and if you choose to read this take it slow

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abandonment, and Alcohol

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

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

annaspykerman's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide