katetipp's reviews
65 reviews

Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke

3.0

Ok this book has SO much potential but ended up disappointing for me. Highlights are the discussion around our general relationship with dopamine and how the pain and pleasure centered are connected. Understanding the updates in neurobiological research and how we all seek dopamine hits in big and small ways is fascinating. The author is a psychiatrist and she discusses doing psychotherapy with patients and her tone was off putting (judgmental) to me. She also chose vignettes that have a "shock factor" and followed them throughout the book, which I think distracted from her main points & message. 

Worry by Alexandra Tanner

2.0

Probably a least favorite of the year. A look into the lives of two sisters and the ways anxiety, primarily driven by family dynamics, impacts them in their 20s. The book is satirical and crude; the dry humor was sometimes funny but overall hit my style. The book was written from one POV and I honestly only kept reading because I had a theory for a twist that would make the book make more sense but I was wrong. Just not a particularly enjoyable read for me! 

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

3.0

After reading Ask Again Yes, I am officially a Mary Beth Keane fan. This one is the story about the impacts of financial struggles and infertility on a marriage and the difficult choices people make to cope. I wanted to like this book a little more than I did. Keane's writing is excellent but I really only felt drawn in by one character and just had a hard time feeling connected to the story, which felt so different from her previous books. Will still always read more of her work! 

Bad Vibes Only: and Other Things I Bring to the Table by Nora McInerny

3.0

I went into this knowing nothing about the author. She brings a realistic and honest look at the experiences of being a woman, mother, widow, blended family member, and middle aged person, and she is definitely writing only to an audience who fits at least some of those categories. Though the essays bring relevant cultural commentary, this is not a book with major takeaways or prompts for reflection. It felt more like chatting with a funny friend who is good at telling stories; good for a laid back audio listen. 

Raising Worry-Free Girls: Helping Your Daughter Feel Braver, Stronger, and Smarter in an Anxious World by Sissy Goff

2.5

I appreciate Sissy's work and typically like her delivery. I did not love this book. Maybe it felt slightly redundant on the heels of reading The Worry Free parent which I did enjoy. I listened to audio and the tone of the narrator came off as so patronizing, which was particularly off putting given the content. Positives for me were the very specific examples of language to use to both understand and cope with anxiety, and I do think there was a lot of takeaway in terms of tools for anxiety from a Christian worldview. But ultimately, I think the approach felt reductionist if and left out a more nuanced understanding of anxiety, including Tom things like cultural context, home environment, social media, etc. I think the "why" is so important to understand and this book just felt too one dimensional. 

Rebecca, Not Becky by Catherine Wigginton Greene, Christine Platt

3.0

A book about friendship & race in the elite suburbs of VA. The authors took on many heavy themes- racism, Alzheimer's, marital issues, infertility. I thought they did a really good job of writing thought provoking and challenging content through the fictional story, though the themes are applied to the ultra wealthy and certainly have different implications for people with less resources. The ending of this book was super rushed and felt confusing compared to the pace of the book itself. 

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

4.0

I like this one a lot! Rowell created unique and dynamic characters as she tells the story of high school friends who grew apart and the connection that sustained them to come back together in their 30s. While it is a love story, the characters have solid individual arcs and and it was one of the only books I read this month that I had trouble putting down! 

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

3.0

I normally do not read YA novels but this one came highly recommended and was available on Libby. In the context of being a genre that is not my favorite, this was a pretty good book. A story about young love, regret, and the clunkiness of adolescence that follows boy-girl childhood best friends throughout their high school years. This book starts out with a flash forward that is not fulfilled until the end of the book and the story felt painfully slow in its development to the climax of the story which did not happen until the last chapter. There is a theme of depression in the book that I did not feel was well written and felt addressed too casually. The ending left me feeling angsty and sad. A really fast read with short chapters and while it was not a bad read, I am not the intended audience, which is no surprise, but I can see why it is a popular novel for YA fans!

How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Nicole LePera

2.5

Dr. Nicole LePera is very popular on social media (like 8 million IG followers?? which feels insane) I wanted to read this to understand more of what people seeking her work are learning.  She covers core therapeutic content about attachment theory, neurobiology, boundaries, etc. -  a decent overview and I would say very informative for people new to these concepts. While I do think it is important to consider a holistic approach and the mind/body/soul connection LePera does this is a way that feels more mystical than grounded in science, spirituality, or reality, even. Many people are wondering "how to do the work" so the branding of this messaging is certainly compelling. However, I do not think the book fully addresses this question (as there is no "one size fits all" answer). There are journal prompts at the end of each chapter but they felt short-sighted and lacking context. This book is not a replacement for therapy or other forms of relational support needed for healing, though the book does represent itself as such, even discouraging talk therapy to some extent. Bottom line - there is some helpful content and some not-so-helpful content and I think this book & its themes are best used as a complement to other forms of healing & growth. Probably would not recommend.

All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

4.0

A powerful and dynamic look at slavery, particularly the experience of women in slavery. Miles is intelligent and artful and executed this book very well. She uses material artifacts (primarily a cotton sack passed down through generations) as a central theme and extrapolates various historical analyses about slavery in America specifically highlighting the perspective of Black women. A powerful look at atrocities that occurred throughout the country, particularly in the South, and the reverberation of both generational trauma and resiliency. This was a detailed and at times dense read and probably would have been best absorbed if I had spread it out over a couple of months.