Overview

The refreshingly original debut memoir of a guarded, over-achieving, self-lacerating young lawyer who reluctantly agrees to get psychologically and emotionally naked in a room of six complete strangers--her psychotherapy group--and in turn finds human connection, and herself.Christie Tate had just been named the top student in her law school class and finally had her eating disorder under control. Why then was she driving through Chicago fantasizing about her own death? Why was she envisioning putting an end to the isolation and sadness that still plagued her in spite of her achievements? Enter Dr. Rosen, a therapist who calmly assures her that if she joins one of his psychotherapy groups, he can transform her life. All she has to do is show up and be honest. About everything--her eating habits, childhood, sexual history, etc. Christie is skeptical, insisting that that she is defective, beyond cure. But Dr. Rosen issues a nine-word prescription that will change everything: You don't need a cure, you need a witness. So begins her entry into the strange, terrifying, and ultimately life-changing world of group therapy. Christie is initially put off by Dr. Rosen's outlandish directives, but as her defenses break down and she comes to trust Dr. Rosen and to depend on the sessions and the prescribed nightly phone calls with various group members, she begins to understand what it means to connect. Group is a deliciously addictive read, and with Christie as our guide--skeptical of her own capacity for connection and intimacy, but hopeful in spite of herself--we are given a front row seat to the daring, exhilarating, painful, and hilarious journey that is group therapy--an under-explored process that breaks you down, and then reassembles you so that all the pieces finally fit.

Full Product Details

9781797114309

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Reviews

This unrestrained memoir is a transporting experience and one of the most startlingly hopeful books I have ever read. It will make you want to get better, whatever better means for you. -- Lisa Taddeo, New York Times bestselling author Tate takes us on a journey that's heartbreaking and hilarious, surprising and redemptive--and, ultimately, a testament to the power of connection. -- Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author A no-holds-barred account of her five-plus years in group therapy in this dazzling debut memoir...Readers will be irresistibly drawn into Tate's earnest and witty search for authentic and lasting love. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author Information

Christie Tate is a Chicago-based writer and essayist. She has been published in the New York Times, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Eastern Iowa Review, and elsewhere. Her essay Promised Lands was the winner of the New Ohio Review's nonfiction contest, which was published this fall.

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