AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile
Therapist Chelsea Harvey Garner is straightforward, hilarious, and heartfelt in her message to embrace life's disappointments and offer kindness to those who are also facing their own challenging times. Narrator Ann Marie Gideon has an informal tone that is relaxed, pleasantly light and playful, yet genuine. She channels the "pity party" thoughts in listeners everywhere and exudes energy and believability when expressing the idea that sadness can lead to happiness if negative emotions can be accepted and managed well. Garner is open about sharing her own grief and the insights she has learned as a therapist. She offers up intuitive practices, fun ideas, and thought-provoking questions relating to how to handle life's disappointments. Gideon's narration supports the author's belief that listeners can heal from feeling depressed. D.Z. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
04/17/2023
“Pain is part of the human experience... not a sign of failure, weakness, or spiritual disfavor,” writes psychotherapist Garner in her wise debut. Despite a culture of “anti-emotionality” that dismisses strong feelings as useless or illogical, the author notes, the full spectrum of emotions (including painful ones) is central to a rich life, and processing them, especially in groups, can spur healing. In brief essays, Garner explores ways of managing sorrow and melancholy, probing the ills of emotional repression (ignoring feelings “cuts us off from important messages our body is trying to communicate”), why it can be healthy to cry around others (“relationships require responsiveness”), and how to decide whether to trust another person with vulnerable feelings (“Are they consistent? Are their words and actions aligned?”). Intercut are bits of levity in the form of, for instance, a “Crying Bingo” card (squares list “on an Ikea display couch” or “at the DMV”), along with questions intended to foster connection to one’s emotions. Laced with wry humor (“Sure, life is beautiful, but good vibes only? In this economy?”), Garner’s approach to emotional health is permissive without being overly self-indulgent—readers can feel their feelings without getting consumed by them, she makes clear. This is one for the feelers who need a hand. (July)
From the Publisher
Laced with wry humor, Garner’s approach to emotional health is permissive without being overly self-indulgent—readers can feel their feelings without getting consumed by them, she makes clear. This is one for the feelers who need a hand. — Publishers Weekly
“As evinced by the title and the attendant activities, this is not the typical bromide-laden self-help book advising readers to turn their frowns upside down.” — Library Journal
AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile
Therapist Chelsea Harvey Garner is straightforward, hilarious, and heartfelt in her message to embrace life's disappointments and offer kindness to those who are also facing their own challenging times. Narrator Ann Marie Gideon has an informal tone that is relaxed, pleasantly light and playful, yet genuine. She channels the "pity party" thoughts in listeners everywhere and exudes energy and believability when expressing the idea that sadness can lead to happiness if negative emotions can be accepted and managed well. Garner is open about sharing her own grief and the insights she has learned as a therapist. She offers up intuitive practices, fun ideas, and thought-provoking questions relating to how to handle life's disappointments. Gideon's narration supports the author's belief that listeners can heal from feeling depressed. D.Z. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
