Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery

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If you're going to choose to read this book, realize that it has many things discussed in detail that could be triggering and traumatic. One of the cases in particular is pretty detailed with the sexual abuse of a child and it was heartbreaking and gut-wrenching for me and I'm not personally affected by it. But inspired? Mostly I just felt sad at the capacity humans have for hurting other humans, for the ways that hurt can easily get passed on generations down the line, and for all the times the people who are SUPPOSED to notice and follow up on suspected neglect or abuse just ... don't. In every case, the patient who was abused as a child could have been saved a world of hurt had other adults stepped in and said, "no, something isn't right here." Full Book Name: Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery

Good Morning, Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Recovery

Regardless of how it all came to be, it is blatantly unethical. Calling someone a hero means nothing if you treat them like a pawn. The book’s subtitle - A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery - is the perfect content summary. I was actually surprised to find that the patients she profiled weren’t psychopaths given the “monster” in the primary title. Rather, they were just people trying to be functioning adults after horrible (HORRIBLE) childhoods. Case in point, a woman whose hateful mother greeted her each day with, “good morning, monster.” Gildiner does a great job explaining psychological concepts in a way that lay folks will understand. Most readers will enjoy her stories. I’m probably more critical than the average reader.I had a few Aha-moments, which has influenced how I see some aspects of my own life now. We tend to forget that we create defense mechanisms in childhood to cope with certain things, but then retain these long after they become unnecessary. The stories of each patient are so insightful that one begins to see parts of themselves in Cathrine Gildiner's analysis'. It is interesting to note that in writing the book there is an "ah-ha

Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories

One of Peter’s biggest realizations throughout his work with Gildiner was that although his mother did what she thought was best for their family – and indeed, did better than her relatives had done for her when she was young – she had still abused and neglected him. Gildiner chose fascinating people to include in her book. She had the luxury of being able to see her clients for years, something that’s sometimes prohibitive in America due to insurance and HMO restrictions. Of course, wealthier clients can private pay. And the lesson was especially pertinent to her work with another heroic patient, one who had built strong emotional barriers within himself to survive. We’ll discover his story in the next section! I keep trying to decipher what the lesson of this book is, and I think it boils down to this: if you have been horribly emotionally damaged, you may never be able to repair yourself completely, but don't let that discount the progress it IS possible to make. Good Morning, Monster is an intriguing book that explores in detail the experience of a clinical psychologist and 5 of her most memorable patients.The stories of each patient are so insightful that one begins to see parts of themselves in Cathrine Gildiner's analysis'. It is interesting to note that in writing the book there is an "ah-ha" moment in which the book itself lends an element of catharsis for Gildner. She is reminded of her own childhood and the element of strife which in her subconscious helps explain why she chose the patients she did for her book.