Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

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

45 reviews

firedew's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, and Cancer

svershon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

silodear's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

1.5

This book was weird and took me forever to read. I’m not sure how to feel about it. I have many questions about how the subjects profiled in this book provided their consent (did they??) And I have some major qualms with the way the author talks about queer and trans people.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

ecjacobs's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

1.0

Wow, I truly have not hated a book more than this one in SO long. The *only* reason this book isn’t getting 0 stars is that the patients and their stories were compelling and meaningful. Everything outside of direct patient-centered storytelling, I despised. This author expressed sooooo many problematic thoughts and behaviors - AS A THERAPIST!!! - that I wondered what she did that she didn’t feel comfortable putting into a public facing book. Her views on most every single situation were questionable at best, unethical at medium, actively HARMFUL at worst. I truly hated this and wish I had never read it because now I have to think about how such an unfit person treated all of these people with severe trauma and so many others.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

whatchusellin's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

This book was really really good. The topics were incredibly heavy and all five of the clients went through deep trauma and abuse which could be triggering. I really enjoyed the vastly different cases that all come back to the human condition of wanting and needing connections with others. And how your past will haunt you until you face it. Lastly, the authors narration was really interesting to hear the therapists perspective, especially when she shared points that did not make to her clients. I definitely recommend!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

jessierose617's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Incest and Sexual violence

jennawa's review against another edition

challenging inspiring medium-paced

4.25

Trigger warning. Truly inspirational and healing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

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. 

---

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

---

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