I first learned about this book when I saw Melissa Urban (co-creator of The Whole 30) post a photo of it on her Instagram. The subtitle intrigued me, yet it took me over a year to actually borrow it from the library and six weeks to finish all 432 pages. This is one of those books that I think you need to discover and read at the right time in your life – and for me, this past summer was perfect. On top of COVID wreaking havoc, I had a lot of personal shit going on, and Lori Gottlieb showed me that SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE. In a sense, it was comforting.
Title: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Author: Lori Gottlieb
Rating: A Triggering Read
Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help
Page Count: 432
Published: 2019
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a highly relatable read that triggered a lot of my emotions – sadness, anger, happiness; at times I even laughed out loud! The author, who is a therapist, talks about how the breakup with her boyfriend led her to seek out a therapist of her own. Boyfriend, as he’s referred to, threw her a curveball when he said he didn’t want to be tied down by kids – and, well, she has an eight-year-old. Boyfriend also had kids, but they were grown up now and he just wanted to live a life of freedom without extra baggage. Yikes.
This isn’t your typical self-help book; Gottlieb is a skilled storyteller who alternates between tales of her disastrous relationship, her therapy sessions, and a sneak peek into the lives of her own patients. Even so, many of the topics covered are heavy, and I didn’t really get into the flow until the halfway mark. If you (like I normally do) tend to give up on books when they fail to “hook” you, I’d recommend giving this one a longer chance, because once it picks up speed, you really won’t want it to end.
You’ll learn about the sessions she had with her therapist, Wendell, and how she ends up Google stalking him, and then admitting said stalking after awkwardly trying to hide it. How one of her patients is preparing for her celebration of life after a terminal cancer diagnosis. And how another is kind of an a-hole on the surface, believing everyone he comes in contact with is an idiot, but deep down has a shattered heart. You’ll hear the stories and you’ll feel the emotions that go with them.
Gottlieb does a really nice job tying up the end, so you’ll have closure – but may need to grab a box of tissues! Oh yeah, and you’ll find out why that tissue box is on the front cover too. Good storytelling and closure. What more could you really want?
TL;DR
This book should come with a trigger warning because it will trigger all of your emotions. The stories are well thought out and highly relatable – everyone is dealing with something: a breakup, a cancer diagnosis, a death in the family. A good read if you’re feeling lost or alone.
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