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A review by jabu_lani
Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery by Catherine Gildiner
emotional
medium-paced
2.0
**Audiences I would NOT recommend this book for: those with unresolved traumas, particularly sexual and emotional abuse, and neglect. Marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous peoples and transgender people. **
While I did find the material engaging, it was mainly the patient’s journeys themselves that carried me through the book rather than the author’s writing or reflections, per se. The first 2 (out of 5) patient’s stories were ok, but the more I read, the more problematic I found the book to be. The author tended to highlight physical traits and whether she though a patient was attractive or not, and had some observations that seemed irrelevant to the cases.
The 3rd patient was an Indigenous man and that story was difficult to get through because it seemed to expose some implicit biases. This particular patient had also died before the author could ask for consent to share his story, and it wasn’t addressed whether thus was acceptable for his particular tribe’s beliefs or not.
A new foreword for future editions might be useful to address these issues. I tried to give author the benefit of the doubt as she practiced decades ago before representation was as commonplace as it is today. But dead-naming a transgender person bothered me. I tried to view it from a clinical or anatomic lens, but the author repeatedly stated how her patient didn’t need the “mother and father” role she was receiving from her transgender partner. Again, the author may not have had the language that we have and use now, but it was uncomfortable to read at the very least.
The patient’s stories themselves were very traumatic and could bring up strong emotions for those with their own trauma. I had to take reading breaks for this reason. I would have appreciated a trigger warning, but again this may not have been as commonplace as it is now in 2023. I will also say that her few reflective points about her patients did help me see myself better, like the “tapes” we play on loop in our heads can be lies; that was helpful. While the author does mention a few times she had come up short or made a mistake, it by and large felt like a compilation of her greatest work; she often talked about how proud she was of her and her patients’ work. I would have appreciated more self reflection in her book that only comes up briefly in the very last chapter. Though, I admit that may be my own bias as a non-white person reading a white author’s book. I wouldn’t be able to recommend it without some changes.
While I did find the material engaging, it was mainly the patient’s journeys themselves that carried me through the book rather than the author’s writing or reflections, per se. The first 2 (out of 5) patient’s stories were ok, but the more I read, the more problematic I found the book to be. The author tended to highlight physical traits and whether she though a patient was attractive or not, and had some observations that seemed irrelevant to the cases.
The 3rd patient was an Indigenous man and that story was difficult to get through because it seemed to expose some implicit biases. This particular patient had also died before the author could ask for consent to share his story, and it wasn’t addressed whether thus was acceptable for his particular tribe’s beliefs or not.
A new foreword for future editions might be useful to address these issues. I tried to give author the benefit of the doubt as she practiced decades ago before representation was as commonplace as it is today. But dead-naming a transgender person bothered me. I tried to view it from a clinical or anatomic lens, but the author repeatedly stated how her patient didn’t need the “mother and father” role she was receiving from her transgender partner. Again, the author may not have had the language that we have and use now, but it was uncomfortable to read at the very least.
The patient’s stories themselves were very traumatic and could bring up strong emotions for those with their own trauma. I had to take reading breaks for this reason. I would have appreciated a trigger warning, but again this may not have been as commonplace as it is now in 2023. I will also say that her few reflective points about her patients did help me see myself better, like the “tapes” we play on loop in our heads can be lies; that was helpful. While the author does mention a few times she had come up short or made a mistake, it by and large felt like a compilation of her greatest work; she often talked about how proud she was of her and her patients’ work. I would have appreciated more self reflection in her book that only comes up briefly in the very last chapter. Though, I admit that may be my own bias as a non-white person reading a white author’s book. I wouldn’t be able to recommend it without some changes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting