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

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Heart-wrenching stories... [that] inspire awe for the ways people who suffered horrific abuse were able to find a measure of recovery." — Publisher's Weekly She also quotes works and theories from other psychologists, some known and others completely unknown to me. 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: From Book To Podcast | The Skinny Good Morning, Monster: From Book To Podcast | The Skinny

At times, I had to swallow my gorge (with immense difficulty) and struggle not to vomit during Alana's tale of survival and the near incomprehensible suffering she triumphed over. This feels like the authors memoir as much as it’s a professional look at the process between therapist Each case presented is quite different and unique. From a woman with recurring herpes outbreaks because of stress, to a Native American man who cannot show emotion. They all have one thing in common, showing that trauma, abuse, neglect can induce destructive triggers but it also shows the indomitable human spirit to overcome adversity.As anyone who has sat through a Zoom therapy session knows, there's really no substitute for the real thing. But, the book world is giving it a shot... Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner is a psychologist's retelling of five of her most memorable (and harrowing) cases." — Entertainment Weekly

Good Morning, Monster on Apple Podcasts ‎Good Morning, Monster on Apple Podcasts

There is Laura, who was abandoned in a cabin as a child and sought to hide that fact from the world as she stepped into the role of parent for her younger siblings. There is Peter, the son of immigrants, who was consigned nearly from birth to years spent alone in a room above the family restaurant; years that left him with developmental deficits harsh enough to deny him the intimacy he so required as an adult. There is Danny, an Indigenous man, who was ripped from his family by the government so that he might have his native ways educated out of him, only to suffer repeated abuse in the school ostensibly meant to save him. There is Alana, the daughter of a pedophile, who was proffered to her father's friends until society intervened to place her with her paternal grandparents - where the true nightmare began. And there is Madeline, whose aristocratic mother greeted her every day with the phrase destined to become this book's title. Although this book centers on the healing of Gildiner’s patients, it is also about her own gifts and growth as a therapist... Hats off to Gildiner for doing a heroic therapeutic job and for writing about it so eloquently." — New York Journal I respected how she recounts her own failings as a psychologist, how she missed certain signs in some of her patients that led to a regression in their therapy and forced her to take into account her mistakes and how she could do herself and her patient better. For fans of Lori Gottlieb... a therapist recounts five of her most fascinating patients, with a focus on how heroic they are for overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles." — Business InsiderTo say people are resilient downplays the strength, willpower and incredible determination Dr. G's patients demonstrated to survive at all costs, despite the horrible and terrible obstacles life threw at them.

GOOD MORNING, MONSTER | Kirkus Reviews

Gildiner is astute, active, pragmatic, and hopeful. She is also very funny. Her wit and her wisdom are gifts shared with these five people — and now with all of us readers." — David S. Goldbloom, co-author of How Can I Help?: A week in My Life as a Psychiatrist In this fascinating narrative, therapist Catherine Gildiner’s presents five of what she calls her most heroic and memorable patients. Among them: a successful, first generation Chinese immigrant musician suffering sexual dysfunction; a young woman whose father abandoned her at age nine with her younger siblings in an isolated cottage in the depth of winter; and a glamorous workaholic whose narcissistic, negligent mother greeted her each morning of her childhood with "Good morning, Monster." Affecting... Insightful psychological lessons of special interest to readers on therapeutic journeys of their own." — Kirkus Since reading Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed last year, I've been so eager to find something similar. I fell prey to the marketing for Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life, and, for some twisted reason, I actually finished that awful book despite it being one of the most cringey reading experiences I've ever had the displeasure of going through. Not only did it not quench my thirst for another Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, it nearly put me off of the idea of books centering around therapists for good. Last year I listened to and LOVED Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed and although this one definitely has a more serious tone I still found the 5 cases presented fascinating.

Customer reviews

I highly recommend Good Morning, Monster to anyone who loved Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, or who like me was looking for something similar but someone else. 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.

Good Morning, Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Recovery Good Morning, Monster: Five Heroic Journeys to Recovery

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of GOOD MORNING MONSTER by Catherine Gildiner in exchange for my honest review.*** And there are definitely many descriptions that might trigger you, if you have a history of abuse, neglect, assault or trauma. Had it not been for a friends recommendation I never would have thought to try another book on psychology. She said she was twenty-six, single, and working in a large securities firm. She’d started out as a secretary but had been promoted to the human resources department. One such patient was a pianist, Peter. Initially, the musician was working with a urologist because of erectile dysfunction. However, the urologist could find no reason why Peter – who could masturbate to completion and had no physical impediments – couldn’t achieve an erection during sex. Peter was attracted to women and wanted a sexual relationship, but even the strongest, most reliable drug the urologist had didn’t help.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. In this fascinating narrative, therapist Catherine Gildiner's presents five of what she calls her most heroic and memorable patients. Among them: a successful, first generation Chinese immigrant musician suffering sexual dysfunction; a young woman whose father abandoned her at age nine with her younger siblings in an isolated cottage in the depth of winter; and a glamorous workaholic whose narcissistic, negligent mother greeted her each morning of her childhood with Good morning, Monster.