Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (Review)

With my resolution to read more non-fiction, I hoped I would broaden my horizons, learn more, and perhaps find a few good works in the meanwhile.

But, knowing how picky and specific I am in my tastes for the genre, I didn’t expect to find anything I’d love. And I certainly never thought I’d find anything worthy of throwing aside my fiction works for, that made me want to read it non-stop. 

But then, along came Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.

Just as the subtitle suggests, this book is about a therapist, her patients, and her own therapy, but the bigger, unmentioned, themes are about humanity.

“Of all my credentials as a therapist, my most significant is that I’m a card-carrying member of the human race.”

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is partly Lori Gottlieb’s own memoir, detailing her somewhat unusual journey to becoming a psychiatrist, a mother, and the other interesting parts of her life that unfold over the course of the story. It’s also partially the story of her patients, including the man who thinks the world is full of idiots when he’s the greatest idiot of all, the young woman dying of cancer, and the older woman who has lived such a life of loneliness that she has given herself a deadline to find happiness. We get to know these ‘characters’ over the course of their treatment, as we also dive deep into the life of Gottlieb and her treatment. 

This book’s perfection lies in its balance. There are so many life lessons to learn from this story, so much so that, at times, it almost feels like therapy itself.  Thankfully, however, none of the themes ever come across as heavy-handed. In fact, the anecdotal nature of it all was just (*chef’s kiss*) glorious to see unfold in its thematically timed moments and overall story structure. You can read this book with the ease of a work of fiction, with it’s meaningful character arcs and well-timed twists and surprises, yet the gravity of the reality of it still hits you at the right moments. 

Gottlieb may have the benefit of some creative license when it comes to these ‘characters,’ as she’s required to change them enough not to break doctor-patient confidentiality. But I never felt fooled. 

“It’s impossible to get to know people deeply and not come to like them.”

Her honesty, paired with just enough wit and humor to make the hard topics bearable, made the story just that more engaging. It’s difficult when writing about oneself to be unbiased, but Gottlieb manages to show both her moments of weakness and her moments of strength…and, yes, her moments of judgment. Yet, she’s open in a way that I would still trust her to treat me…which is no small feat.

On top of it all, this story is just plain well-written, which is no surprise given her background in writing for film television. Incredibly engaging with short, snappy chapters, Gottlieb knows exactly when to keep things in, when to kick them out, and how to weave the different timelines and narratives together in a way that not only makes sense to the reader, but so that the ultimate themes are clear and striking.

I rated Maybe You Should Talk to Someone 5 out of 5 stars and will be surprised if any other non-fiction tops this one for my favorite of the year. 

You can read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone for free with a trial month of Scribd.