Book review: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Full title: "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed" by Lori Gottlieb, published in 2019.
A while ago my good university friend recommended that I read a book of a psychotherapist who shares stories about her clients and her own experience on the therapist's couch. The premise of the book sounds simple, but just as the people's minds and emotions are complex in real life, this book turned out to be multilayered as well.
First it reads like a fiction: you follow the stories of Lori Gottlieb's clients and at the end of each chapter you can't wait to know what happens to them in the next one. And as good fiction should, it masterfully mixes genres: sometimes it's a witty comedy, and sometimes it's a tragedy. This book made me laugh and made me cry... at least twice.
Then it reads like an inspiring memoir: Lori recollects how she became a writer, a therapist and a mom, how she found her purpose while trying on other paths and eventually connecting the dots.
In the end it reads like a quality non-fiction: along the lines she explains the psychological concepts, retells history of the craft, explains therapeutic methods, and how our brains and psyche work.
I used to go to therapy in the past myself, and just as many people described in the book, I struggled with consistency, oftentimes having months of gaps between sessions, avoidance of difficult topics and being open. This book made me eager to try therapy again with a fresh view and appreciation of how much is already done and how much there is still to discover about myself.
The author is honest in the opening note, explaining that some of the stories are combined into one or changed to conceal the identities of her clients. I even saw a negative review doubting how much of this book you can actually believe. But she proves how similar we are in our values and human desires, so maybe blending our stories into one does not hurt us much, but actually makes us more relatable in the end? Maybe we should all talk to someone to understand ourselves and each other better?