I love a good creative memoir/self-help book. If you haven’t caught on yet, I look for a lesson in any material I read and these types of books are sure to bring what I crave. When RBC announced it was their monthly pick (way back in the day) I added it to my TBR pile and it sat there collecting enough dust to grow a mustache. One day visiting my local used bookstore, it almost smacked me in the face as I walked through the door. I knew it was a sign to stop avoiding because I also truly believe that books always find you at just the right time, in the most serendipitous ways.
Book Summary:
Christie Tate had just been named the top student in her law school class and finally had her eating disorder under control. Why then was she driving through Chicago fantasizing about her own death? Why was she envisioning putting an end to the isolation and sadness that still plagued her in spite of her achievements?
Enter Dr. Rosen, a therapist who calmly assures her that if she joins one of his psychotherapy groups, he can transform her life. All she has to do is show up and be honest. About everything—her eating habits, childhood, sexual history, etc. Christie is skeptical, insisting that that she is defective, beyond cure. But Dr. Rosen issues a nine-word prescription that will change everything: “You don’t need a cure, you need a witness.
So begins her entry into the strange, terrifying, and ultimately life-changing world of group therapy. Christie is initially put off by Dr. Rosen’s outlandish directives, but as her defenses break down and she comes to trust Dr. Rosen and to depend on the sessions and the prescribed nightly phone calls with various group members, she begins to understand what it means to connect.
Group is a deliciously addictive read, and with Christie as our guide—skeptical of her own capacity for connection and intimacy, but hopeful in spite of herself—we are given a front row seat to the daring, exhilarating, painful, and hilarious journey that is group therapy—an under-explored process that breaks you down, and then reassembles you so that all the pieces finally fit.
Considered Reads Summary:
Our main character is a flawed being, and like most of us humans she hides the ‘ugly’ parts from others, resulting in increasingly painful shame and zero meaningful relationships. Christie’s journey starts by attending a 12 step program for an eating disorder, eventually building to multiple sessions of weekly group therapy in search of finding ways to truly being known and loved. We journey alongside Christie through highs and lows as her relationship with her therapist, group members, and self strengthen. Dr. Rosen helps Christie understand the underlying unmet need she’s been carrying with her since childhood and patiently encourages her growth until she’s able to find what she’s looking for on her own time and readiness.
Tate wrote this memoir with a twist of playfulness and wit tied to the darkness she experienced. She weaves heavy subjects in an easily digestible manner, making this an easy entry for someone just beginning to read self-help flavored books.
Audience Match: Those who are looking to be seen in their struggles.
Quiet Question: Do you have at least one person in your life, if not a community, that will accept and support each piece of you without question?
Mood: Emotionally chaotic.
Pacing: Fast
Our Rating: 3.75 - A quick read that balances heavy topics with humor. I did wish there was a bit more depth to it as it felt a bit surface level. Nonetheless I would suggest this page turner for a first time self-help read!
Favorite Quote:
“When you agree to keep someone’s secret, you hold their shame.”
Comparable Titles:
The Tell: A Memoir - Amy Griffin
Good Morning, Monster - Catherine Gildiner
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Lori Gottlieb
