Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life

By Christie Tate

The refreshingly original debut memoir of a guarded, over-achieving, self-lacerating young lawyer who reluctantly agrees to get psychologically and emotionally naked in a room of six complete strangers - her psychotherapy group - and in turn finds human connection, and herself.

Christie Tate had just been named the top student in her law school class and finally had her eating disorder under control. Why then was she driving through Chicago fantasising about her own death? Why was she envisioning putting an end to the isolation and sadness that still plagued her in spite of her achievements?

Enter Dr. Rosen, a therapist who calmly assures her that if she joins one of his psychotherapy groups, he can transform her life. All she has to do is show up and be honest. About everything - her eating habits, childhood, sexual history, etc. Christie is skeptical, insisting that that she is defective, beyond cure. But Dr. Rosen issues a nine-word prescription that will change everything: “You don’t need a cure, you need a witness.”

So begins her entry into the strange, terrifying, and ultimately life-changing world of group therapy. Christie is initially put off by Dr. Rosen’s outlandish directives, but as her defenses break down and she comes to trust Dr. Rosen and to depend on the sessions and the prescribed nightly phone calls with various group members, she begins to understand what it means to connect.

Group is a deliciously addictive read, and with Christie as our guide - skeptical of her own capacity for connection and intimacy, but hopeful in spite of herself - we are given a front row seat to the daring, exhilarating, painful, and hilarious journey that is group therapy - an under-explored process that breaks you down, and then reassembles you so that all the pieces finally fit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Oct 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781471199073

Christie Tate

Christie Tate is the author of the New York Times bestseller Group, which was a Reese’s Book Club selection. She has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and elsewhere, and she lives in Chicago with her family.

Reviews for Group

[carolfoisset · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book has been on my TBR list for a long time, and sometimes I expect too much and am disappointed when I finally read a book from the list. I am a supporter of therapy and understand how valuable it can be, I just didn't find listening to someone retelling their whole group therapy story all that interesting. However, I can see how it would be helpful to others (I did a lot of reading about grief when I experienced a big loss). I listened to the audio version of this book.

[rumuse · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I read this because my husband enjoyed it and recommended it. For me it was a long boring slog. Took me over 3 weeks to finish because I simply didn't feel engaged. I found the main character irritating as hell.

[janepat-619237 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The amount of self-disclosure was its best and worst characteristic. She bared all. So I read all about her journey. I'm a discerning reader and don't finish books that aren't compelling. Something about her story and honesty kept me reading to the very last page. Even though sometimes there was too much information and it felt like she was STUCK !!!

[alanna1122 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, I got to the end of this. I wasn't sure I would. I did have a morbid curiosity over where it was headed. I like the idea of this book. I have never heard about what group therapy is like. I found that really interesting and informative. However, I found the author's voice really unrelatable so that effected my reading experience a lot.