mxfrog's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25


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throwback682's review against another edition

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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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jams_is_rad's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5


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alleemartin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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lauraliz914's review against another edition

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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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bridgettb's review

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dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

3.5


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