Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Lori Gottlieb's memoir, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed was highly recommended in Renee's Reading Club on Facebook. The idea of the group is to recommend titles so there is nearly no discussion about the books to avoid spoilers. (Details about the books are relegated to a different Facebook group.) I really had no idea what to expect, even after reading a blurb.

This memoir was definitely a heftier read than I expected it to me, but it was so worthwhile. I guess you have to believe that talk therapy is good for mental health in order to really get anything out of this book.

Lori Gottlieb takes an indirect career route to becoming a psychotherapist. She's been at it for a few years when she's blindsighted when "Boyfriend" dumps her. She's having trouble getting through the days and determines that it's time for the therapist to find a therapist.

By sharing anecdotes from Gottlieb's sessions with her patients (not her preferred term) and her sessions with her therapist, readers get a better understanding of what therapy can and can't do. Her narrative is completely relatable. I found myself nodding, laughing, being very moved as I read through the memoir.

I think this could be a great book to discuss with the proper book club. I know I'll recommend this book to others. Everyone should be able to get something very positive out of the experience of reading this book.