Carol

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone [Book Review]

January 3, 2020

 Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone review

Genre/Categories: Nonfiction, Memoir, Psychology, Therapy, Mental Health

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Exploring mental health, finding meaning in life, and repairing broken relationships…

Lori Gottlieb, a psychotherapist and national advice columnist, shares a behind-the-scenes look into her work as a therapist. She also shares what it was like when she sought out therapy for herself.

“Most of what we say to ourselves we’d never say to people we love or care about, like our friends or children. In therapy, we learn to pay close attention to those voices in our heads so that we can learn a better way to communicate with ourselves.

My Thoughts:

Humorous, thought-provoking, and candid…

My initial reaction to Maybe You Should Talk to Someone was skepticism that a smart and successful professional therapist would have such a difficult time navigating the break up of a two-year relationship that it would drive her to seek therapy.  Instead of feeling compassion for her, I began to doubt her credibility. However, in this way, she does endear herself to readers as “one of us.” As she builds the story, introducing us to four patients (clients) and transparently sharing her own experience as a therapist seeking therapy, I became invested in the book.

I grew to care about her four clients: a 70-year-old woman who wanted to end her life, an abrasive and arrogant midlife Hollywood producer, a young newlywed facing a terminal illness, and a twenty-something who doesn’t make the best choices in men. When the author’s issues are added into the mix, there is enough variety for all readers to make a few connections. I love how the author integrates the five therapeutic experiences and how authentic it feels. She makes connections between her four clients and her own issues. I appreciate that she presents herself as a client and not the all-knowing professional.

The author and her therapist exemplify the caring and competent therapists that we each hope we would have. They are not afraid to make a connection, take risks and think outside the box. I wish that everyone could have therapists like Lori and Wendell.

Themes: Many thought-provoking themes are presented in Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. The ones that I thought the most about were pursuing a meaningful life, the hope of repairing broken relationships, and learning to appreciate the positive when our lives veer off our ideally envisioned future (“Welcome to Holland”). It left me with the feeling that therapy with the right professional could be a very good experience for most of us! I hope this candid and friendly exploration of therapy will help encourage more people to talk to someone.

Recommended: I consider this a worthwhile and beneficial read with this note: it has some profanity (if that bothers you) and it’s filled with triggers including terminal illness and death of a child. I found it emotional at points. I highly recommend this for readers who are in the field of mental health (or considering the field), for those who are curious about therapy and/or some of the terminology and process, for fans of poignant memoir, and for everyone who wants to live a more meaningful life. If you’ve never been to therapy, this might ease your curiosity or apprehension. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone started out as a 4-star read and ended up as a solid 5 stars. I encourage you to give it time to come together.

Lori Gottlieb in her own words.

My Rating: 5 Stars

twinkle-twinkle-little-startwinkle-twinkle-little-startwinkle-twinkle-little-startwinkle-twinkle-little-startwinkle-twinkle-little-star

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Information

This is my Review of the Month for the book review link-up on LovelyAudiobooks.info.

Meet the Author, Lori Gottlieb

Lori Gottlieb

Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which is being adapted as a television series with Eva Longoria. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The Atlantic‘s weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column and contributes regularly to The New York Times. She is also a TED speaker and serves on the Advisory Council for Bring Change to Mind. She appears in media such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, CNN, and NPR’s “Fresh Air.” Learn more at LoriGottlieb.com.

QOTD!

Is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone on your TBR?

Happy Reading Book Buddies!

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke

“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes

“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text

Let’s Get Social!

Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.

Find me at:
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Pinterest

***Blog posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.

Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.

Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.

30 comments

  1. I’m so glad that you read and enjoyed this one, it was my favorite nonfiction of 2019 but I am a therapy enthusiast so I realize my perspective is a little biased. I found it fascinating and incredibly well-written, it almost reads like a novel. I loved her trajectory from Hollywood to end school to therapist and how that shaped both her career and her writing.

    Reply

    • Thanks Kendra! It is very well written! Entertaining, transparent, and well structured! I was amazed at how she tied all the cases together in the end! She learned as much from them as they did from her! She had an interesting career jour! Thanks

      Reply

  3. I bought this book awhile ago and its in my TBR stack, so was glad to read your review. Without giving too much away, I was interested in reading about therapy because my husband has a mental illness and had a stoke a few years ago that has made his previous issues more difficult. He sees two therapists, but I don’t see anyone. So, looking forward to reading this. Thanks!!

    Reply

    • I hope you find it helpful Donna. I just edited my review to indicate that it does include a little profanity if that makes a difference. I think therapy is usually helpful! Good luck!

      Reply

    • Yes very authentic…..at first it seemed a bit all over the place….but it came together so well! She is a thoughtful and caring person, and I loved how she also learned from her patients!

      Reply

  6. What a great concept! I’m fascinated by therapy, and this sounds like a really interesting story-based approach to talking about it, which I’m 100% up for! I’m also super nosy, so the premise of this book has definitely captured my interest.

    Reply

  20. I had seen this book around, but it never piqued my interest, but it has now. I do want to try and read at least 24 nonfiction books in 2022 and this one seems like a good one to add to that TBR list. Great review Carol.

    Reply

Leave a Reply