Official Review: Crazy Like Me by Erin Lee

[ChrisKauf]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Crazy Like Me" by Erin Lee.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Crazy Like Me by Erin Lee

Genre: Fiction: deals with personal life issues

Dr. Katherine Murphy is a psychotherapist who has individual sessions with each of her clients, as well as bringing some together for group sessions weekly. The group includes quite a mix of personalities and issues. Some of the issues her clients are dealing with include betrayal, trust, anger and broken hearts. During the 50 minute weekly sessions they discuss what has gone well during their week, what is still bothering them or roadblocks they encountered. Sometimes the interactions between group members can get a bit explosive. At other times you will be laughing out loud. They come to rely on each other, as well as Katherine, to help them see new ways of dealing with daily life situations. Katherine has her own issues to deal with but, being a professional, must keep her personal life separate and keep up her professional façade. Will her clients be able to overcome and solve their life’s problems? Will Katherine be able to maintain her professional distance and overcome her life’s issues? Will she gain insights about her own issues from listening to her clients? You will have read the book to find the answers.

I enjoyed this book and wanted to know what would happen to the clients next. I could relate to some characters more than others due to my own life experiences. I could feel the anger and frustration of Ed and I wanted to hug Brenda and cheer for her every time she made a small step in her recovery. I found Trish to be immature, flaky and not truthful; I really disliked her. These strong feelings about the characters are due to the way Erin Lee draws you in to the story by describing each person in such detail that you feel you know them personally. I did think of some people I actually know when reading this book. Erin Lee does point out that we are all a little crazy in different ways. She does an excellent job of describing the struggles professionals often face when trying to show a human side while also staying on the professional side of the line.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is written from a third person perspective and the writing style is very clear, no big professional words to deal with. I look forward to reading more books by Erin Lee. I hope we will learn more about what happens next for Katherine and her group in future books.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the lives and problems persons with mental health challenges face. One disclaimer though, some issues may trigger memories of difficult times for some as the book at times talks about abuse, infidelity and abortion, among other issues.

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Crazy Like Me
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Like ChrisKauf's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kourtney Bradley]

Nice review!

[barb429]

Nice review. I love it when books make you feel strongly about the characters (whether you love or hate them). It means that they are not one-dimensional or bland. It sounds like an interesting story.