Good Morning, Monster

I always enjoy reading these case stories and I certainly enjoyed this one. Its interesting to see which person I can relate to the most and I am always curious to see what the therapist says about the various incidents in the person's life. Because these problems do not come out of the blue you know. They are linked to your childhood and what was going on when you were very young. And if you pay attention and squint a bit, you may just see parts of yourself in these stories - and your parents too. Or maybe even other adults who were big parts of your life as a kid.First of all I want to say the thing in here about the gorillas was just astounding. Who would have thought?! But it certainly explains a lot. Apparently motherhood - that is the so called instinctive feeling to love a baby & to defend it - is not automatic if the mother herself was not bothered in a caring way... Because what these female gorillas do in here is very revealing. And not only to the newborn baby gorilla but to the male too. Its like they don't even understand the social cues. Maybe because they weren't raised with them. So then any "romantic advances" by the male gorilla is seen as a possible attack. And the baby is then some strange thing that moves...but its not a baby as they have no idea what a baby even is. I think this explains a lot.But its not only gorillas. Its humans too. And many parents cannot bond with their kids because they themselves had never bonded with their mother. Maybe they raise the kid but its all cold. No love. No feelings of protection. Or safety. Neglect and abuse happens. The child grows up with awful anxiety, fears, brainwashing that teaches them they are never good enough and that they don't deserve anything. Maybe they become workaholics like Madeline. Or they don't know how to have a relationship like Danny. The list of problems can be endless.And it can include multiple personalities like Alena. Did you know that if you have a high IQ, if you are creative and if you have complex PTSD you are at risk for that? I had no idea.But what I enjoy about these cases is that the author explains why people do the things they do. Because often people cannot connect the dots. You know, your mother treated you this way as a kid so now you do this...but you don't know why you always do that. The book is full of examples. And like the gorillas the parents themselves are broken too. From their bad unloving childhoods.Out of these five people, I think I can relate in some ways to Peter the most... Of how he was raised isolated. And then when he started school he was terrified of the other kids. That was me too. Never actually had contact with other kids my age before I started school. But that really messes you up. And as a kid you have no idea these things are abnormal. That is a common theme in here actually. These clients all thought their abnormal childhood was normal.But I think the story about the gorillas explains as a little kid why I had 0 interest in playing with those dumb baby dolls. I only liked stuffed animals. Or toy cars.This is definitely worth reading.

Easy read and insightful for those learning about childhood trauma, and getting into psychology. Truly enjoyed it and will be looking for more books by this author.

What these five patients went through was horrific and difficult to read, but it was an absolute delight to watch them fight their battles and become the winners of their own stories.It's definitely worth a read, and this book will definitely grant some wisdom and advice that is applicable to our own troubles.

While each story is gut wrenching, you can't help but feel inspired by the tenacity of the human spirit.This book also made me feel like a champion of a parent.

I enjoyed the author's ability to weave therapy into story while being honest and transparent about her own humanity in her role. We learn from each other and this book displays that beautifully.

The book is compelling and was hard for me to put down. The author incorporates her expertise and clinical knowledge of the five patients’ journeys in her writing without getting bogged down in technical, esoteric terms. The descriptions of the abuse each patient endured made it difficult to read at times, but was portrayed sensitively. I highly recommend this book.

Eye opening thoughts for me. Good writing. Deep thoughts and profound insights to such tragic events in these young lives.

As a therapist, I loved being able to connect with this perspective. Viewing the therapeutic relationship in this was felt real and vulnerable. Gave me more to think about and self reflect on.

I was so pleasantly surprised to the Canadian component. I loved this book and already want to read it again.

Difficult to get through but at the same time un put downable.Brought tears to my eyes, ache to my heart and joy at the transformative journeys.Well worth a read.

Not an easy read, but one of my favorite books

Un libro que con cada paso de pagina te hace sentir algo. Te mueve la mente y el corazón al ser testigo de las vidas de estos 5 heroes.Llega un punto en donde parece irreal todo lo que han sufrido y aún más irreal que hayan sobrevivido a semejantes situaciones en sus vidas.Ademas de sus historias he agradecido y disfrutado que la autora nos guíe en sus diagnósticos, citando estudios y teorías, así como explicaciones que facilitan el entendimiento de las experiencias de sus pacientes y de ella misma.Un libro que volvería a leer sin duda y que me ha inspirado.

Finished the book in 2 days. One of the most interesting books I have read recently. Narration is amazing, even thought the topic is heavy, the author leaves the reader hopeful. Anyone interested in psychology should read the book.