firedew's review against another edition

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dark hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0


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svershon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.0


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silodear's review against another edition

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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.

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morgane3471's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5


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ecjacobs's review against another edition

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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.

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whatchusellin's review against another edition

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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!

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jessierose617's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

4.5


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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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jennawa's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring medium-paced

4.25

Trigger warning. Truly inspirational and healing. 

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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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