For our October read this summer, we chose Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life, by Christie Tate.
A book about loneliness and want, about desire and sexual anorexia, and about shame and learning healthy intimacy, Group is our October read recommendation.
Christie Tate, the author, explores her personal struggles with eating disorders, intimacy, and shame in this 288 page memoir. While at times, we found her accounts excruciating to get through, it was only because her honesty about her struggles with mental health reminded us of when we’ve spent years repeating the same toxic patterns in our own lives. There is so much shame wrapped up around mental health that it is rare to hear brutally honest descriptions of what it means to be caught in the jaws of anxiety/depression/psychosis, etc… Millions of us, including some of us at Honey Dew, live with mental disorders and stand less chance of overcoming or managing them without the knowledge that we are not alone and the insight of what has worked for others. We are thankful to author's like Tate, who are willing to share the most "broken" and socially stigmatized parts of themselves.
Group is about many things, but the most profound message we at Honey Dew got from it was that community is healing. Christie was staggeringly lonely prior to joining group therapy and she found support and acceptance there- even in moments of anguish, and despite having many behavioral outbursts. We all need a group of people that will stand with us through thick and thin, will tolerate our moments of meltdown, and will be there to extend a hand when we cannot get up off the floor on our own. Christie found support and camaraderie in her therapy groups and in so doing, began to heal.
Group is not always a comfortable read, there were times during the book that we wanted to throw the damn thing against the wall, but in the end it was good because it was messy and, at times, agonizing- just like life.
We give Group 3.5 out of 5 stars. To see what our star ratings mean, see below:
⭐️ Not a book we recommend
⭐️⭐️ Decent story/some good content, but lacking substance or writing skill
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Well done; good quality writing or research, a worthwhile read
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Extremely well done; well written with excellent story/content
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Breakthrough work that stands out from the crowd, resulting in personal growth/learning by the reader
