This is one of the best books I’ve ever read on therapy, and I’ve read a lot. The author is a successful and famous author and deservedly so.
The series of long-term case histories are examples of how people with terrible pasts can overcome them by confronting their past with a guide and the wish to be cured. And without depending on drugs the rest of their lives. In the end, the author sums it all up with a. Wonderful statement. “Finally, these heroes inspire us by showing that all self-examination is brave”.
I got this book through NetGalley, but bought another copy for a person who has relied on medication all their life. I think reading it not only is a form of therapy, but is a source of happiness and optimism about the human spirit.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very fascinating. The case studies were very interesting (and sad). It was very interesting to see how the human mind can deal with trauma. It was also good to see that it can be overcome with therapy.

What an inspiring, insightful, and utterly gripping read. I was on the edge of my seat during some passages, and echoes from the book stayed with me throughout the day when I wasn't actively reading. I learned a lot about the therapy process from the therapist's end, and enjoyed both the case studies and the author's insight into herself. I enjoyed her reflections of herself so much I've ordered the first of her three (!!) memoirs. Highly recommended for anyone interested in memoir, psychology, or interesting families.

I love reading stories about people who thrive and survive despite having the cards stacked against them. Catherine Gildiner, a former clinical psychologist in Canada shares (5) deeply moving and deeply tragic stories about individuals she has treated in therapy. Laura 26, Peter 34, Danny 40, Alana 35, and Madeline 36 each came to Ms. Gildiner early in her practice for a specific issue. Each bear significant aftereffects of childhood trauma, neglect and/or abuse that was affecting their life and/or relationships in adulthood. Some of the neglect and abuse is quite horrific and obviously these individuals had the strength to try to keep moving forward to a sense of normality.

Most come to therapy to deal with a pressing issue but, it is only through their lengthy therapy that they are able to finally see the real trauma that they have repressed. I won't go into the details of each story but, I will say that Peter's story and the early neglect and emotional trauma he experienced at the hands of his Chinese mother bothered me the most for some reason, yet they are all terrible.

The title reveal of this book comes while reading the final story (Madelines.) This book is much darker than Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. another book that I thought was very good. I loved seeing how teach of the patients slowly comes to the realization of what they must do to move forward toward a more fulfilling life. Each story gave me a more hopeful feeling that the individuals would be okay.

Rating - 5/5 stars (each story sticks with me still) ---https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2020/12/good-morning-monster-therapist-shares.html

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. It was one of my favorites last year and I think this may be one of my favorite non-fiction books this year. I always appreciate to hear real-life stories of anxiety, abuse, trauma, etc. It's encouraging to hear how different people from various walks of life overcome and walk through these things.

A therapist's account of five of her most thought-provoking patients, I would have liked to have more information about the process of obtaining consent and/or obscuring personal details enough to maintain the patients' anonymity. Consent is touched on in the author's note, but when the author mentions talking about the book with her patients throughout the text, the exchange sounds more like Catherine Gildiner telling the patients they will be included rather than asking permission. One of the patients has since passed away, so I wonder how he was able to consent to sharing his story?

All of the cases feature victims of extreme child abuse and sexual violence, and are therefore hard to read. I found the first two stories heartbreaking but inspirational. It was great to see therapy in action, helping people find peace with themselves and their history, and eventually lead much happier, healthier lives. I loved that part, and left those chapters feeling inspired to take a closer look at my own mental health.

I became uncomfortable in Danny's case study when the author writes about an incident when Danny almost quit therapy after she suggested he had been a likely target of sexual abuse as a child because he is handsome. Even if it's objectively true, I found that to be shockingly insensitive and unprofessional. Danny found the words to stand up to himself in the face of what I will generously call the therapist's insensitivity, but I don't think that passage was responsibly managed or written.

I almost stopped reading when I got to Alana's case study. Alana was referred to the author by her partner's therapist. Alana suffered a mind boggling amount of trauma that manifested itself in what the author identified as dissociative identity disorder, itself a controversial diagnosis. What really bothers me though, is the portrayal of Alana's partner, Jane, a transgender woman. In introducing their relationship, the author deadnamed Jane, and described Jane’s transition using incorrect pronouns. A quick edit could have eliminated some common microaggressions; I'm not sure why the author or the editorial staff made the decision to print the text as-is. As Alana progressed in therapy, she decided to end her relationship with Jane. I recognize that the dialogue attributed to Alana during this portion of her therapy is meant to convey the suppressed anger starting to bubble up as well as the misdirection of that anger. However, I don't think that some of the overtly transphobic things that Alana said about her partner needed to be included in this book. A thoughtful editor would have been able to portray anger without including comments that border on hate speech. The author also shared a pretty amazingly offensive rationale behind Alana's attraction to a trans woman that I'm not comfortable repeating in this review.

Alana's story is positioned towards the end of the book, so I decided to keep reading as I'd come so far. In the final chapter, the author reflects on a case in which her own personal history became intertwined with a patient's treatment. While I appreciate the honesty, reading this passage made me uncomfortable.

While half of the book is thought-provoking and inspiring, the other half more like grossly irresponsible trauma porn. I'm unable to review this book highly or recommend it to others.

Loved this book. I am a big fan of books about therapists sharing their accounts with their patients. The stories shared were heartbreaking. Many times hard to read, but also fascinating and the author put a positive spin on things and the people seemed to grow and heal a lot from their therapy with the author. It is impressive how resilient and strong these people were in different ways. Also interesting seeing what the author learned from each patient. Well written - I was engrossed in the book the whole time. Not for the easily triggered - especially with this being a true story - child abuse/sexual assault/abuse. If you liked Maybe You Should Talk To Someone - I think you'd enjoy this one too.

Thank you NetGalley/St.Martin's Press for the ebook ARC!

Good Morning, Monster consists of five case histories, each one a fascinating story in its own right. Each one hooked me right away and The reader gets an inside look at the therapist/patient relationship as well as the process of therapy. Gildiner reveals the inner thoughts of a therapist about her patient’s therapy as well as insights about the therapeutic process in general and specific to the individual patient. We go inside a therapist’s brain and learn how and why they decide a certain course of treatment or approach is the right one and then we see it play out.

This collection of case studies is a testament to the notion that psychotherapy is an art and not a science. There is not a one size fits all. One has to always be adjusting the approach as more information is revealed by the patient. It is truly like a puzzle, trying to fit pieces together that don’t fit. There can be no doubt that therapy is truly a process that evolves over time. Gildiner says it best:

“One of the things I love about being a therapist is that, as things become clearer to patients, mysteries unfold and psychological clues, or revelations, emerge. The big picture comes into focus. That’s not as easy to achieve as it sounds, especially since the patient herself is part of that picture.”

Gildiner demonstrates through these case studies that a therapist is not infallible and can be influenced by their own issues when treating a patient. It is important for them to reach out to mentors to make sure it is not happening.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC. I was very interested in this book because my daughter is studying to be a psychologist. It is difficult to contemplate how true evil exists and the harm people can inflict on those they are supposed to care for or love. However it gives me insight into my daughter’s chosen profession. Dr Gildiner’s ability to treat and help these broken people is a true gift. I just wonder how the doctor copes with handling that sort of ugliness. Something to discuss with my daughter so she takes care to protect her mental health. It is a very well written book but a very difficult read - I had to shelve it several times.

5 giant stars!

My streak of outstanding reads continues. Though I have only read 31 books this year, the number of 5 stars books amongst that lot is remarkable. And the streak continues with Good Morning Monster.

This book is simply phenomenal! Catherine Gildiner is a now retired Canadian psychotherapist. Out of the thousands of clients she has treated over the years, she has picked five of her therapy “heroes” to write about—Laura, Peter, Danny, Alanna, and Madeleine. We are in the room with Ms. Gildiner as she works with these diverse patients with varied deep-seated psychological issues. Each one comes into therapy armed with complicated coping mechanisms and defensive strategies that prevent them from getting to the core of their issues. It is fascinating to see how all five, with the help of Ms. Gildiner, did the heavy lifting and fought the battle to get to the point where they for the most part conquered their demons and went on to much better lives.

I was hooked immediately, and my interest did not flag for a single second. This book is gold. Every one of the five individual journeys proved to be highly inspirational and incredibly interesting. I learned so much about the power of the human subconscious and the ability of psychotherapy to break through. These types of issues are not something that can be untangled in a couple of weeks; all of the patients were in therapy for 4-5 years. But if you ask any one of them, it was worth it.

Bonus points for the fact that Ms. Gildiner gave “decades later” follow on each patient. Extra credit too for the fact that I picked up a suggestion or two that I might try in my own life. And I have to say my eyes welled up at the end simply because the book was done. No more sessions with these beautiful people and Ms. Gildiner. My next book is going to have to fight my “book hangover.”

I chose this book after reading Lori Gottlieb’s “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone,” another winner. Anyone who liked that one will surely love this one. I think it hasn’t gotten the attention Ms. Gottlieb’s book did at this stage of the game because of the odd title (which I finally understood in the last chapters). Don’t let that deter you from grabbing a copy of this truly inspirational and educational book that will make you think about yourself as well. Recommended for all.

Many thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press, and Ms. Catherine Gildiner for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

I loved these stories - they weren't easy to read by any means, but I found it so interesting to read about the ways that these five people were able to work through their traumas and improve their lives. It was also interesting to see things from Dr. Gildiner's perspective, as I often wonder what my therapist is thinking as she writes her notes.

Terrible History Lessons
Catherine Gildiner’s Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery is a depressingly sensationalized retelling of a therapist’s five difficult and horrific cases. It felt invasive to read such intimate and scarring details of a person’s life and unfair that we should know the depths of a stranger’s pain--and just wrong that a trusted therapist should want to write these case histories, even with their permission. I couldn’t get past the first case.

Wendy Ward
http://wendyrward.tumblr.com/

After reading and loving "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone," I tried to find a book that had similar themes. Good Morning, Monster was incredibly enlightening and well-written.

Talk about an inspiration. I needed to read this book to gain inspiration and focus on really making myself better.
I loved this book!

Thank you the NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC

Good Morning, Monster is harrowing and brilliant. It isn't an easy read; anyone who has experienced abuse, especially parental, will find themselves having to pause and think about their own jouney to find peace or understanding or both. But it's well worth it as Catherine Gildiner's compassion for her patients coupled with a writing style that manages to be accessible to those familiar and unfamiliar with therapy creates a journey of extreme experiences of suffering towards hope is both heart-rending and uplifting. There is something for everyone to relate to and think about in Good Morning, Monster. Very highly recommended.

I felt the client's stories in this book were heartbreaking and inspiring all at the same time. The trauma each client experienced was difficult but seeing their ability to find a way through was inspiring. Something taught within social work is the strengths based perspective when working with clients. While Dr. Gildiner is a psychologist and the principles they follow are slightly different, I felt this perspective was how she wrote her book. She took the time to help each individual recognize what powers/skills/abilities they did have and build them up. I also greatly appreciated Dr. Gildiner's reflection on her own practice including her accomplishments and mistakes with the client's. She also acknowledged how we must continuously be aware of our own experiences and how that can be projected onto our client's unconsciously. I absolutely loved this book, particularly because it lines up so well with my educational pursuits.

Have you read anything lately that totally captivated you from the very first page? I was a huge fan of the 2019 non-fiction release Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb (you can read my review HERE) and so when I saw that she had blurbed that this book was “heartbreaking, surprising, inspiring and profound” I knew I needed to read it as soon as possible. In Good Morning, Monster, author, and therapist Catherine Gildiner shares about five of her former patients who overcame enormous trauma and who she considers psychological heroes.

These patients initially came to her for a preliminary issue, and only after years of work together were the layers really peeled away, exposing the real core of their often repressed traumas. I am not going to sugar coat it, these stories are heavy and some of the events are almost unimaginable but seeing these stories unfold was absolutely remarkable. We are able to see how these amazing individuals coped along the way and how they learned to work alongside their long-buried wounds, but now, without letting them define them.

While these journeys were absolutely heartbreaking at times, I was so inspired by the process of digging into their own pasts to ultimately discover healing and a path forward. I appreciated that Dr. Gilidiner shares the highlights of her therapeutic work as well as the failures and setbacks along the way. You can tell she works from a place of empathy and kindness and holds the utmost respect for these amazing people she has worked with.

Woven into these captivating real-life stories was an incredible amount of professional insight that added so much when learning about these amazing individuals. This book was also an important reminder that many people we interact with on a daily basis have endured unbelievable traumas and how important prioritizing our mental health is.

The people that I am most inspired by are the ones who have worked through enormous hurdles and setbacks, and are still here, learning, reexamining, and pushing on in the face of adversity. This book is a must-read and already know it will be one of my top books of 2020.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for a gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved these stories, when speaking to readability. I rushed through each person's narrative, craving to know the developments that would unfold. The stories were well written and detail filled, without getting caught up lagging on too many particular details.

That being said... I have a bit of an issue with how Ms. Gildiner presented herself within these stories. Each one seemed to find a focus on her mistakes in treatment, on her relationship with the patient, on her own psychological similarities or hurdles. The presence of significant errors in treatment within each story makes me wonder if these "heroes" should have been seeking the help of the author in the first place, or if another doctor would have been better suited. That does not really speak to the book itself; just to the peculiar need of the author to overtly insert herself into each of these stories. Perhaps it's because most of her writing experience is in memoir.

In this fascinating book by Catherine Gildiner, each of the five stories reveal the sufferings of patients from the beginning of her practice to post retirement. The stories are tied together by a theme - she regards each patient as a hero, for their ability to survive the traumas that brought them to her office.

Told in the tone of Oliver Sacks (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat), Gildiner presents each case with all of its warts and moles - even the mistakes she made along the way - with empathy and humor. She clarifies where practices may have differed from current trends or knowledge in psychology, and she provides updates on the current status of her patients. Her explanations of cultural differences, how they affected her patients, and how she learned from her patients, really was an eye opener into how oppression and misunderstanding can wreak havoc on a person's psyche.

Her explanations of maternal attachment and use of the Harlow monkey films took me back to my abnormal psych courses in college, but took it a step further by relating it to her patient and providing an insight into this important developmental milestone.

I would love to see another five stories from Gildiner - we have so much to learn from her!

The author wrote an interesting book about a few of her most memorable patients. I loved seeing the journey these patients went on to heal. As a psychology major, I found this to be a truly fascinating read!