book reviews
Book reviews by and for those seeking to understand the human mind for all its strengths, quirks and shortcomings.
Book Review: Maybe You Should Talk To Someone By Lori Gottlieb
This article was originally published on rochizalani.com Maybe You Should Talk To Someone is Lori Gottlieb’s behind-the-scenes life as a therapist, as a patient, as a writer, as a mother, and as a person.
By Rochi Zalani5 years ago in Psyche
The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath Book Summary: An Autobiographical Insight Into Depression And Emptiness
This article was originally published on rochizalani.com It is impossible to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath without her real-life context coloring the story. Sylvia Plath published this semi-autobiographical work under a pseudo-name, but she wasn’t there to witness it when the work gained widespread momentum under her real name. Plath had killed herself less than a month after The Bell Jar hit the shelves.
By Rochi Zalani5 years ago in Psyche
The Branch & The Vine by Stephen D. Edwards
What’s the book about? The book is about how the author got over decades of depression through Jesus Christ. It’s a combination of a memoir and a self-help book. It’s available in most major e-book stores and on hardcover with Amazon. As of writing the hardcover is £21.99. The e-book prices fluctuate depending on which store you choose. On Amazon its £0.99, Google books it’s £2.92 and Kobo it’s £5.06. It’s also availible on the author’s own website for $14.99 in Canadian dollars. So there are quite a lot of options to get this book.
By Chloe Gilholy5 years ago in Psyche
Push by Sapphire
How I came across it? Even though the book has been out for a while, I didn’t know anything about it until I saw the film Precious. I thought the film was amazing and it had some brilliant acting performances. Really loved Mariah Carey’s role as the therapist. Poignant how she got to redeem herself after her film Rainbow was critically panned.
By Chloe Gilholy5 years ago in Psyche
Civilized Terrorist 'Terror Redefined' by Musaib Malik
Since time immemorial, people have been guilty of terror. Back in the Jurassic era, humans were threatened by large, horrible animals. Then the biggest threat to human civilization was habitat. You might think how habitat was one of the greatest threats to human civilization? The answer is simple, today we see big algae in the oceans that can grow up to 100 meters in length known as kelps. These kelps are modified versions of their forefathers. So you can imagine what it would have been like millions of years ago.
By Zeeshan Mushtaq Lone5 years ago in Psyche
Book Review: "Drug Use for Grown-Ups" by Dr. Carl Hart
When I first heard of this book I expected it to be someone simply teaching us how marijuana can help and heal us like many other people are trying to teach us. CBD, weed etc. But I was so very wrong. Instead, this is a book about how the history of drugs is so very different to the modernisation of drug culture. How it was once a free choice and now is overtly policed. It is about how 'drug' has been turned into a derogatory term and how the socio-economic factors surrounding 'junkie culture' has impacted the overall view of drugs. The argument: should adults with their own choices, with their own human rights, be allowed to put something into their body that they choose? The answer in terms of alcohol and cigarettes is 'yes'. But if we are to look at drugs, the answer is exclusively 'no'. This book is mainly about this argument and its history.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health in Literature
Perpetuating the stigma of mental illness The stigma shrouding mental illness is a prevailing one. This stigma breeds distrust of mental health professionals, reducing them to the term "shrink." People in therapy are seen as weak. People who can’t handle their emotions. This stigma is especially detrimental for men and people of color.
By Cynthia Varady5 years ago in Psyche
Book Review: Brown, Brene — Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice
Rising Strong, is a book about overcoming adversity, but it is much more than that. Brown has an accessible writing style that explains her own detailed research in a way that helps people to make sense of difficult emotions. Brown’s writing style is relaxed, informal, honest and at times, humorous. It is down to earth, with an anecdotal approach but references other peoples work as well as her own studies, in a clever and different way. Priests, screenwriters, and scholars are given equal billing, among others.
By JoJoBonetto5 years ago in Psyche
Book Review: Sane New World: Taming the Mind, Ruby Wax
I remember Ruby Wax from her TV interviews in the 1990s with various celebrities. The Madonna interview was like watching a ship go down. The one with Pamela Anderson doing pelvic floor exercises in her Baywatch swimsuit was not much better. Ruby Wax is a bit like Marmite, you either love her or hate her. I find her funny, but she has a habit of what I would call “over acting” and this book is not really that different in style.
By JoJoBonetto5 years ago in Psyche
"Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life"
I'll start by saying, I was shocked at how much I was able to relate to this story, having never partaken of group style therapy myself. What made this story so relatable for me were the overarching issues which sent Christie to therapy in the first place: an overwhelming sense of loneliness beginning at a young age, an eating disorder, a dysfunctional family dynamic, being sexually assaulted. I personally relate to each of these topics in some way.
By Emily Goswick5 years ago in Psyche
