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JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

January 2, 2020

The Talking Cure by Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship

January 2, 2020

The essence of successful therapy is the relationship between the therapist and the patient, a dance of growing trust and understanding. It is an intimate, messy, often surprising and sometimes confusing business -but when it works, it’s life-changing.

In The Talking Cure, psychotherapists Gill Straker and Jacqui Winship bring us nine inspiring stories of transformation.

They introduce us to their clients, fictional amalgams of real-life cases, and reveal how the art of talking and listening helps us to understand deep-seated issues that profoundly influence who we are in the world and how we see ourselves in relation to others. We come to understand that the transformative power of the therapeutic relationship can be replicated in our everyday lives by the simple practice of paying attention and being present with those we love.

Whether you have experienced therapy (or are tempted to try it), or you are just intrigued by the possibilities of a little-understood but transformative process, this wise and compassionate book will deepen your sense of what it is to be open to connection – and your appreciation that to be human is to be a little bit mad.

The Talking Cure by Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship brings together eight common struggles brought to therapists.

In each chapter, we meet a different patient with a very different issue that they’re struggling with, and Gillian and Jacqui track their progress and break down their struggles for the reader. Whilst each story in this book is fictional — for confidentiality reasons — the patients are an amalgamation of real patients that exist in the world.

Each hidden struggle in the book is something that is commonly experienced by people within — and outside — of a therapist’s office, including difficult children, closed-off boyfriends, spouses shaken by an unexpected affair, people-pleasers, and more.

It’s quite surprising to recognise yourself in some of these patients. You find yourself genuinely fascinated to see some of your own behaviour in these fictional people, and you can’t help but glimpse the checklist at the end of each chapter to see how much of that ‘category’ you might fit into.

“Meredith had spent so much time thinking about Jade, and imagining her needs and wishes, that her capacity to observe and see her daughter’s actual needs and wishes was impaired. Jade had become a creation of Meredith’s own making.”

Insightful and interesting, The Talking Cure will entice many adult readers interested in learning more about psychology of humans. Don’t try to diagnose yourself with this book though. As I’ve mentioned, the stories in each of the chapters are fictitious and the checklists are merely there as a guide, so take this experience with a grain of salt.

“As I sat in the room with Charlene I experienced her loneliness. Yet even as she was sharing her distress, I felt strangely unmoved. I didn’t feel invited into her world. I felt spoken at rather than spoken to; it seemed to me that I was being asked to bear witness to a story Charlene was telling, but I was prohibited from participating in a dialogue with her.”

Admittedly, The Talking Cure feels a little formulaic after a while. You meet the patient, the psychiatrist reflects on what the ‘struggle’ is and what its effect is, the psychiatrist asks about their childhood and determines that their relationship with their parents and/or siblings explains how they are now, the psychiatrist asks questions to make the patient realise this on their own, and then there’s a checklist for readers to follow. It’s obviously part of the process, but to be completely honest, I was a bit bored by the 5th or 6th chapter.

Additionally, I found Gillian and Jacqui to be incredibly cold in their exchange with the patients (or at least their documented exchange), and truthfully, I never felt that I warmed to either of them throughout the book. There’s something removed about reading these stories, where you never really feel like you’re ‘there’. You feel like a fly on the wall, and sometimes it’s not that interesting.

I’d recommend this book to adult readers who are genuinely interested in the psychology of the human experience, but if you need a little guidance or help with your life, I don’t think this is the first book you should pick up in your journey.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Talking Cure: Normal people, their hidden struggles and the life-changing power of therapy
Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship
June 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 5/10, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Tagged: book review, non fiction, non-fiction, review

December 22, 2019

Body for Rent by Anna Hendriks and Olivia Smit

December 22, 2019

Two ordinary young girls lured into the sex trade. The horrifying true story of life behind the curtains of Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

Growing up in a quiet, middle-class suburb outside of Amsterdam, childhood best friends Anna and Olivia had their whole lives ahead of them. But every parent’s worst nightmare came true when the teenagers fell in with the wrong crowd. Eleven years their senior, Ricardo was charming and good-looking – and Anna and Olivia easy prey. Blind to his grooming, the girls were soon trapped in a terrifying cycle of sexual and physical abuse.

But their nightmare was only just beginning.

Trafficked to the neon-lit windows of Amsterdam’s Red Light District, Anna and Oliva were forced to work as prostitutes, servicing countless men night after night against their will.

Body for Rent reveals the disturbing truth behind Amsterdam’s Red Light District, and the shocking ease with which ordinary girls can be exploited. But despite the unimaginable horrors they endured, the damage done to their bodies and their minds, their friendship remained as strong as ever, giving them hope that one day, they would escape…

Body for Rent by Anna Hendriks and Olivia Smit is a harrowing and shocking memoir from two women who were forced into prostitution in Amsterdam’s Red Light District as teenagers.

Anna and Olivia are childhood best friends who both grew up in unstable homes — Anna’s father left the family when she was young, and when Anna had the option of choosing which parent to live with, her mother said “If you go to live with him, I shall hang myself.” Anna’s relationship with her mother was forever strained, and her father’s attention was thereafter focused on his new girlfriend.

Olivia’s father was violent and abusive towards their mother and Olivia never felt she could form the right bond with her parents after the childhood she endured. When she met Anna, the two bonded over their dysfunctional home lives and found family in each other.

“It was Olivia who came up with the idea to write notes to the school, faking our parents’ signatures and saying that we were too ill to come to class. Although I was more than ready and very willing to play truant, she was the one with the guts to actually say it out loud that we should do it.”

Whilst Olivia and Anna desperately needed each other, their friendship was toxic. They skipped school, stole, and became heavily reliant on drugs and alcohol. And then they met Ricardo, an older man who slowly began grooming them for prostitution.

It would be easy for a reader to learn about this story and fail to understand how the girls became entrapped in this situation, but Anna and Olivia use their voices to educate readers on grooming, manipulation, control, and how easily young girls can find themselves in a similar situation.

At its core, Body for Rent is about friendship and the strength that it can give individuals — Anna and Olivia were able to get through their years of prostitution because they had each other for support. There were incredibly terrifying moments for each of them — abuse, violence, abortion, rape — but the girls always had each other to help pull through.

“Over. It was over. My first customer as a full-time window prostitute. I reached for the whisky, the Red Bull, cigarettes — and my phone. As much as I craved my numbing shot of alcohol and the soothing pull of nicotine into my lungs, my most urgent need was Olivia; I had to hear her voice, and feel the warmth of her love for me as I told her that it was done and I was safe.”

Highly recommended. At times, it’s hard to read. What happened to these girls is horrifying and just very upsetting, but Olivia and Anna wouldn’t be the only girls to have gone through this and I’m sure there are young girls currently going through this situation right now. It’s important to read these kinds of stories to understand how they happen so they can be recognised in the future.

Will the Red Light District change because of this book? Probably not, it’s a huge business and very popular. But will people who are naive about the workings of the Red Light District — like me — come to understand more about this world? Yes, they will. This book is important for educating society.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Body for Rent
Anna Hendriks and Olivia Smit
December 2019
Hachette Book Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 9/10, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Tagged: book review, memoir, non fiction, non-fiction, review

November 23, 2019

Lost but Found by Peter Sharp

November 23, 2019

Sydney Dogs & Cats Home is unique in its ability and commitment to find that ‘one in a million’ owner for animals in their care, as well as that ‘one in a million’ pet for people looking to adopt.

In Lost but Found, you will meet forty special dogs who have spent time at the Home. Their stories reveal how the dogs came to be lost, how and why they were in the shelter, and the love and care they received while there and in their new forever homes.

Fully illustrated and with both before- and after-adoption photography from award-winning pet photographer Peter Sharp of Tame & Wild Studio, this touching collection of precious pups will warm the hearts of animal lovers near and far.

All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home.

Lost but Found by Peter Sharp is an incredible compilation of 40 dogs who have been lost then found thanks to Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.

This book is a gorgeous little package for readers — small, glossy and packed with stories of so many different types of dogs who have experienced different beginnings, and a resulting adoption.

Another day, another dog book that’s made me tear up on public transport.

This book sheds a light on the importance of finding the right dog for your family environment, and it encourages people to adopt rather than buy new puppies. There are so many dogs that need loving homes — of all ages — and they’re all worth a chance.

“Mimosa was picked up as a stray with no microchip or any other form of identification. A routine vet check revealed that this lovely girl had already birthed multiple litters of puppies and was no suffering from heart worm disease.”

The book features full-page, high-res images of each dog and most entries also feature some candids photos of the dog since being adopted by its new owner.

Most of these dogs had horrible starts. They were abandoned, left behind or found in terrible conditions in dense bushland. But the entries shy away from focusing too heavily on the dog’s earlier state, and instead spends more of the page real estate talking about their adoption.

Each dog’s present owner has written a first-person reflection on what it was like to adopt their dog, and it’s a really beautiful and tender addition to each entry.

“Dorothy had a serious case of demodectic mange and a terrible skin infection. She had lost almost her entire coat of fur and nearly every centimetre of her body was red raw, inflamed and covered in scabs, and there was a strong odour emanating from her infected skin. She was also extremely underweight.”

For those who are unfamiliar, the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home is Sydney’s only charity pound and community facility. The Home, which began in 1946, takes care of Sydney’s lost, abandoned and neglected pets. Each year, they help over 3000 animals and they service multiple council areas across Sydney.

The only thing I’d change about this book is that I’d suggest removing the interviews with the animals. I think children would be the main audience for these sections of the book, but I don’t see them picking up this kind of book. I think the main audience of Lost but Found are adult dog lovers, and adults who have adopted or rescued animals in the past. The interviews are sweet, but a little corny.

Recommended for dog lovers, and adults who have adopted or rescued dogs. A heartfelt and heartwarming compilation of really beautiful adoption stories.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lost but Found: Rescue Dogs and their Stories of Adoption
Peter Sharp
November 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

2 Comments · Labels: 9/10, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Tagged: book review, non fiction, non-fiction, review

November 20, 2019

Do You Mind If I Cancel? by Gary Janetti

November 20, 2019

With over 800,000 followers on social media, Gary Janetti has quickly become a viral sensation, but here in Do You Mind If I Cancel?, the man behind the most wickedly funny memes on the Internet turns his attention away from the royal family, and squarely to the realm of everyday life.

He takes on the humiliations of applying for a job, the excitement of moving to New York, and reflects on growing up, and coming out. “These are essays from my childhood and young adulthood about things that still annoy me,” says Gary.

But the book is not just a laugh out loud riot. In the vein of David Sedaris, and Jenny Lawson, the collection is also a deeply felt work of literary nonfiction, exploring the complexities of family, frustrations of careers, and the paradox of life where sometimes everything is irritating, and also wonderful. Original, brazen, and laugh out loud funny, Do You Mind If I Cancel? marks the arrival of a remarkably exciting new voice in American humor.

Do You Mind I I Cancel? is a collection of personal essays from comedic TV writer Gary Janetti, known as one of the writers for Will and Grace and Family Guy.

The book is compact, funny and each chapter takes a different focus on Gary’s life — he reflects on things he’s learned, people he knew, and jobs he had. For most of the book, he talks about being in his late 20s, working low-paying jobs New York City and wanting to build a career as a writer and make it ‘big’ in the city.

“Working at the hotel is already giving me a lot of fodder for my novel, I decide. Too much to keep track of even. I intend to start carrying a little notebook around with me to write down all my thoughts and ideas. And then basically type that up and there you go.”

The essays aren’t ordered chronologically, and at times it’s hard to keep track of where we’re at but each story is funny enough to ease the reader into the chapter.

Many of the chapters also talk about Gary’s sexual orientation and about his younger self coming out as gay. The essays talk about past boyfriends, past crushes, and Gary’s reflection on his younger, gay self. This reflection is wise and insightful as well as funny.

“I audition and am accepted (anybody willing to write the check pretty much gets in, but I don’t know that — but deep down I do) to the twice-weekly three-hour classes.”

Gary’s writing is tonally perfect, whip-smart and will be quick to make reader’s laugh. I was worried that some of the humour or even some of the references would be very American, and therefore it’d be hard to relate, but I didn’t have an issue with this. Everything landed — a quick read and a good read.

“After hours of being barked at with a laundry list of increasingly labor-intensive, anally compulsive chores I begin to wonder if this guy is even gay. I’ve deliberately dusted all the highest shelves first in order to afford a glimpse of my midriff, but not even a glance.”

Gary is a well-known television writer but he doesn’t really touch on how he got his start in that field. A lot of the stories are from his teens and twenties, and then later in his forties. He must have some amazing stories from his early career as a writer, and building up his career and I would’ve liked it if more of that time was included in this book.

I didn’t know who Gary was before reading this book, and so I don’t think you have to in order to enjoy this read. Love comedic essays? Love reading about how successful people lived their life before they were successful? Then this book is for you.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Do You Mind If I Cancel? (Things That Still Annoy Me)
Gary Janetti
November 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Leave a Comment · Labels: 7/10, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Tagged: book review, essays, non-fiction, nonfiction, review

November 17, 2019

Miracle Mutts by Laura Greaves

November 17, 2019

Heartwarming stories of dogs that survived – and thrived – against the odds.

It’s no secret that dogs have indomitable spirits, that they’re tireless workers and have boundless energy. But it’s when everything seems hopeless that their grit and determination really shines through. Whether sick or injured, lost or abandoned, recovering from cruelty or neglect, it’s the underdogs of the world who have the most to teach us.

Dogs like Jake the bulldog, who was found unresponsive in a burning house but was revived by puppy CPR and now serves as a mascot for the fire crew that saved his life; Guy the beagle, discovered alone in the woods, desperately underweight, only to be adopted by Meghan Markle and become a four-legged part of the royal family; and Maggie, blinded by eye infections and shot 17 times, but still living her life with such relentless positivity that she provides support to stressed-out students and aged-care residents.

Miracle Mutts shares the stories of miraculous dogs like these, dogs who conquered seemingly insurmountable odds, dogs whose futures seemed bleak, dogs that weren’t expected to make it – but triumphed and thrived in the face of incredible adversity.

Miracle Mutts by Laura Greaves is the most uplifting, inspiring book for dog lovers — so many good doggos feature within these pages, so many resilient and determined young pups who experienced a catastrophic incident but turned it around and lived a happy and healthy life.

Another day, another dog book that made me tear up on public transport.

Miracle Mutts tells the story of 15 dogs who escaped possible death, from burns survivor Fergus to amputee Kali to a gorgeous greyhound called Millie whose front paw was mangled and almost completely cut off.

The dogs in the book aren’t just from Australia — Laura shines a spotlight on dogs from other locations such as Bali and Sri Lanka, and gives an insight into what life is like for dogs in those places and the limitations that they have simply because proper health and care is not always available.

“Ann’s mind raced with possibilities. What if the torrential rain had washed away his scent and he couldn’t retrace his steps? What if he’d been injured in the inclement weather? Charlie was registered and microchipped, but what if someone had picked him up and spirited him away?”

Exhaustive research and interviews have gone into this book — Laura speaks with multiple people who were involved in each dog’s journey to find out as much about what happened as possible.

In some of the chapters, the stories don’t just involve the dogs’ struggle, but their owners too. Some families experience heartache and are mourning family members, and their dogs play a vital role in helping their owner overcome grief and loss.

Your heart breaks in some parts of the book — there’s a pregnant dog who was sleeping in a field in Sri Lanka when a harvester machine accidentally drove over her and severed three of her legs. She lay bleeding for half a day before anyone found her, and then it was another half day to get her to veterinary help. Miraculously, the dog lived.

“To the man’s horror, Oscar did exactly that, launching himself over the balustrade and plummeting at least 15 metres to the ground below. Why did he do it? Nobody can say for sure, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected given his breed’s high prey drive and proficiency as escapologists.”

Readers will enjoy the story of how Meghan Markle adopted her dog, choosing him from a rescue centre many years before she married Prince Harry. Readers will also love the story of Jake, who was caught in a fire when he was a puppy and was rescued by a fire-fighter who later adopted him.

Recommended for dog lovers, and readers looking for something heartwarming. It’s hard to read this and not feel uplifted or inspired. What a joyous book of stories.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Miracle Mutts
Laura Greaves
November 2019
Penguin Random House

Leave a Comment · Labels: 10/10, Book Reviews, Non-Fiction Tagged: book review, non fiction, non-fiction, review

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