Reviews

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

aahlert's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

fazington's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Medical content, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Incest, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Cancer, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit

lilsujie's review against another edition

5.0

I love therapist books, particularly ones that illustrate what it’s like to overcome hardships. There’s a wide range of people featured in the book, and you see part of yourself in each of them. It’s heartfelt, beautiful, touching, and sad. Makes you grateful for life as you read it.

lanean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Suicide attempt

hhw92's review against another edition

5.0

I really really enjoyed this perspective from a therapist. Really eye opening and thought provoking

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: Incest, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Torture

taylorthiets's review

3.0

Felt weird to read other people’s therapy journeys. Super interesting stories, but felt really invasive

sebswann's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

“…these heroes inspire us by showing that all self-examination is brave.”

Read this if you like stories about people overcoming incredible odds; Dr. Golodner shares patient stories that will shock, horrify, and inspire you. 

oliveralexandre's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

meeks5679's review against another edition

I got this recommended by a friend, but as I was reading realized the author is very much a pretentious, racist white woman. Alarmed that she’s a therapist. The stories of her clients are wow, that’s what kept me going for as long as I did