Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Good Morning Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Recovery by Catherine Gildiner

17 reviews

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

caikey11's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

 Give me more stars for this harrowing, beautiful book. A must read for any mental health therapist, especially if you work with survivors of complex trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault

sarahkate22's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Infidelity, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

lindsayvale's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

lizzythebookworm____'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Mental illness, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Transphobia

megbooks02's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

“Therapy is a matter of getting your unconscious to stop controlling your conscious mind. Effective therapy is about lowering your defenses so that you can deal with the issues that arise in your life.”

This was a really great read! Although I found Good Morning, Monster lacking a little at times because it primarily focuses on psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approaches, it was still very well done! Dr. Gild is incredibly insightful, and there are so many good reminders about therapy in this unputdownable book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

forsan's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

4.0

Catherine Gildiner worked as a clinical psychologist for some three decades, and in this book she recounts five of her particularly "heroic" patients. The book is divided into five parts, one for each patient, and Gildiner recounts the often several years she spent with each of her patients.

The stories recounted in this book were really impactful, but it's worth noting that they are not easy to get through. Gildiner's training was in Freudian psychology, and her patients' backgrounds are full of child abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, and combinations thereof. (In this, it's a very different book than Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.) I definitely think that this book is worth reading, but it'd probably be best to know about this going in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault