“I was thinking maybe I should talk to someone, and then there was this book. Gottlieb has written a compassionate and entertaining memoir from both sides of the couch, so to speak. She tells the stories of four patients whose lives the reader comes to care deeply about while she herself goes into therapy. Physician, heal thyself? No. Human being, be honest with thyself and do something really difficult. Gottlieb is as fine a writer as she is a storyteller. I was sad our sessions had to end.”
— Stan Hynds, Northshire Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, NY
*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!* *An O, The Oprah Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of the Year* *A TIME magazine Must-Read Book of the Year* *An NPR Favorite Book of the Year* *An Amazon 10 Best Books of the Year* *A People Magazine Book of the Week* *A New York Times Editors' Choice* *A Real Simple Book of the Year* *A Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year* *A Variety Best Book of the Year* *A Kirkus, ShelfAwareness, and Bookpage Best Book of the Year* *An IndieNext Pick* *A Book of the Month Club Extra* *An Amazon Best Book of the Month and Books with Buzz Pick* *A Publishers Marketplace Buzz Book* *A Newsday, iBooks, Washington Post, Real Simple, Thrive Global, Refinery29, and Book Riot Most Anticipated Book of the Year* "An addictive book that's part Oliver Sacks and part Nora Ephron. Prepare to be riveted." —People Magazine, Book of the Week "Entirely reframes the way we think about psychotherapy [. . .] Movingly depicts our collective longing for lasting connection." —Entertainment Weekly “Gottlieb’s book is perhaps the first I’ve read that explains the therapeutic process in no-nonsense terms while simultaneously giving hope to therapy skeptics like me who think real change through talk is elusive.” —Judith Newman, New York Times "A psychotherapist and advice columnist at The Atlantic shows us what it’s like to be on both sides of the couch with doses of heartwarming humor and invaluable, tell-it-like-it-is wisdom." —O, The Oprah Magazine “Authentic . . . raw . . . an irresistibly candid and addicting memoir about psychotherapeutic practice as experienced by both the clinician and the patient.” —New York Times "Provocative and entertaining . . . Gottlieb gives us more than a voyeuristic look at other people's problems (including her own). She shows us the value of therapy." —Washington Post "A delightful, fascinating dive into human behavior and idiosyncrasies, habits and defenses, fears and blind spots: hers, her patients’, yours and mine." —Chicago Tribune "This relatable memoir reminds us that many of our struggles are universal and just plain human." —Real Simple "[In the end, Gottlieb and her patients] are more aware—of themselves as people, of the choices they’ve made, and of the choices they could go on to make . . . It’s exploration—genuinely wanting to learn answers to the question Why am I like this?, so that maybe, through better understanding of what you’re doing, you figure out how to be who you want to become." —Slate “A no-holds-barred look at how therapy works.” —Parade "Who could resist watching a therapist grapple with the same questions her patients have been asking her for years? Gottlieb, who writes the Atlantic’s “Dear Therapist” column, brings searing honesty to her search for answers." —Washington Post “Reading it is like one long therapy session—and may be the gentle nudge you need to start seeing a therapist again IRL.” —Hello Giggles “In her memoir, bestselling author, columnist, and therapist Lori Gottl —