Play Book Tag discussion

This book's title definitely does a good job of summarizing the memoir's basic premise: Lori Gottlieb works as a therapist, but a breakup sends her, unusually, spiraling. Thanks to another therapist colleague, she manages to find and begins to see a therapist of her own, Wendell (no easy feat, since codes of professionalism require that she can't go to a therapist she knows in some other professional [colleague] or personal [friend] way.) In this book, she explores her own story and experience in therapy along with her experiences with four of her own clients. John, a producer on a popular TV show struggles to avoid bringing work home and sustaining his relationship with his wife; Charlotte, a young alcoholic, seemingly can't avoid making bad choices involving men and alcohol; Rita, a sixty-nine-year-old, rues her current situation and profoundly regrets her past; and Julie, a recently-tenured college professor, has terminal cancer. The book watches these stories develop alongside Gottlieb's own.

I deeply enjoyed this book. I found Gottlieb's look at therapy from both perspectives enlightening. I also appreciated her authenticity; I can fully believe her thoughts throughout the book and appreciated that she could show all sides of her. The stories of Gottlieb's clients were also extremely moving. I found one story less compelling than the other three, but those three ended up being extremely touching and emotional to me. (The author does note that, as part of protecting her clients' privacy [in addition to obtaining consent from each of them], these four "characters" sometimes combine multiple real clients or piece their stories together. While one could argue that this makes the story less "real," I didn't see it that way and am willing to trust Gottlieb that they accurately reflect the spirit of her sessions, even if a perfect reflection is impossible for privacy reasons.)

Great review. I saw this title mentioned many times, but for some reason I didn't realize that this would be such a personal book. It would take a great deal of trust for a client to agree to be part of the book. I'm bumping this up my list. Thanks!