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

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

by Catherine Gildiner

St. Martin's Press ·2020 ·368 pages
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64/99
Maybe Someday

35/99

Critics' Rating Index

Top of the Pile

92/99

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About This Book

In this fascinating narrative, therapist Catherine Gildiner's presents five of what she calls her most heroic and memorable patients. Among them: a successful, first generation Chinese immigrant musician suffering sexual dysfunction; a young woman whose father abandoned her at age nine with her younger siblings in an isolated cottage in the depth of winter; and a glamorous workaholic whose narcissistic, negligent mother greeted her each morning of her childhood with Good morning, Monster. Each patient presents a mystery, one that will only be unpacked over years. They seek Gildiner's help to overcome an immediate challenge in their lives, but discover that the source of their suffering has been long buried. As in such recent classics as The Glass Castle and Educated, each patient embodies self-reflection, stoicism, perseverance, and forgiveness as they work unflinchingly to face the truth. Gildiner's account of her journeys with them is moving, insightful, and sometimes very funny. Good Morning Monster offers an almost novelistic, behind-the-scenes look into the therapist's office, illustrating how the process can heal even the most unimaginable wounds.


Reviews

"If the title of this book did not imply that the real-life psychological horror stories within it actually had happy endings, it might be almost unbearable to read."

Karen R. Koenig· The New York Journal of Books Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Overcoming fear is no easy thing, writes the author, and her five patients as well as her own therapy lead her to the pointed conclusion that 'all self-examination is brave.' Insightful psychological lessons of special interest to readers on therapeutic journeys of their own."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Near the Top

"While each patient first comes to Gildiner with an immediate health concern, they all find healing by opening up, delving into their past to uncover former traumas, and finding forgiveness for those who have caused them harm."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

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