Maybe you Should Talk to Someone

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

  At #5 on the NY Times non-fiction best seller list this week is Lori Gottlieb’s new book that allows readers a secret look into the other view from the couch.  Gottlieb is a therapist who shares her analysis about several patients she has seen over the years (names changed, of course) and how she has tried to help them reach their goals and ‘get better.’  While this rarely seen viewpoint was interesting, I found her own therapy more educational and revealing. The book highlights her patients John, Charlotte, and Julie and takes the reader through their initial meeting as her patient until they terminate their time with her as therapist.  Gottlieb’s own meetings with a therapist I found more fascinating.  She initially seeks help when her engagement falls apart and she is stuck grieving her departed boyfriend.  Most helpful to me was an inside understanding that even a therapist cries, needs help through difficult times and questions their own decisions and actions.  I found myself wishing to know more about how Gottlieb’s life progressed after the boyfriend left.  Helpful for those who believe in talk therapy and perhaps even for those who do not.