"Group," by Christie Tate

I have very mixed feelings about “Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life” (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2020), by Christie Tate. It is an extremely up-close description of a therapy group (actually several groups with the same unconventional therapist) the author participated in. Normally what happens and what is said in such groups is meant to be confidential, but in this case, part of the nontraditional therapy is that everyone – therapist and fellow group members – is free to talk openly about these matters, inside or outside of the group. Perhaps I am being too conventional, but this openness made me a little ambivalent, even queasy. Yet I have to admit that the details of what was said, and especially the extreme candidness of the author, which in many cases was far from flattering to herself or others, were fascinating, if sometimes almost too raw and unfiltered (details about sexual behavior, bodily functions, various forms of misbehavior, and more). I felt that we as readers were put in the position of voyeurs, which made me uncomfortable, yet I have to admit that I kept reading. The main point was that this therapy did work for the author, and for at least some of the other group members. Also on the plus side, it was clear that the group members were often very supportive of, and helpful to, each other.