Six bright, successful and remarkably self-destructive people enter into a course of dynamic group therapy in an effort to recognize and overcome their compulsions, addictions, weaknesses and family legacies. Granted unlimited access to the sessions and the patients' lives, journalist Paul Solotaroff has captured a compelling real-life drama as it unfolds. Against a ticking clock - the prescribed period of treatment is ten months - a wide range of human tragedy and comedy plays out, imbiung "Group" with the pacing of a thriller and the lure of a mystery, as we learn, finally, who triumph and who is beyond help. Under the aegis of a charismatic, maverick psychiatrist, this engaging and diverse group of strangers commiserate with, badger and urge one another along toward the goal of finding their "true story" - and that is, the life each was meant to lead, their path to happiness - rather than accepting the "false story" they were handed in childhood and are tragically living out. Accompanying the revelation of their fears, their hopes, their setbacks and recoveries are the doctor's acute psychological insights and prescriptions on dilemmas common to us all. "Group" is, from beginning to end, an absorbing journey along the often excruciating and revelatory path of self-awareness and emotional healing.
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Amazon Review
If you're the sort of person who sees the "talking cure" as the American disease, then the thought of reading an account of a New York therapy group might have you running screaming for the exit. However, that would be a mistake. Group: Six People in Search of a Life is a riveting, compulsively readable account of five people and their struggle to transform their lives.
"It's painful to listen to yourself, at least in the beginning, but the alternative is endless suffering", says Dr. Lathon (a pseudonym, as are all the names in the book), the therapist of this group. This book is not a self-help text, says author Paul Solotaroff, but a "work of narrative journalism" perceptively documenting five highly successful, tremendously self-destructive people living through a year of the powerhouse theatre of group therapy. With much intense emotional ditch-digging, Lathon teaches the group his vocabulary (pain is not to be confused with suffering) and helps them become acquainted with the texts of their wounds and wishes.
Solotaroff, who was once a participant in an earlier group with Lathon, is an accomplished writer who vividly brings his subjects to life. Their troubles run the gamut of dysfunction, encompassing every flavour of anaesthesia--sex, food, drugs, TV, alcohol, shopping, overwork and destructive relationships. Raw and surprisingly candid, these are real individuals fighting some of life's harshest battles; not everyone survives emotionally to tell the tale. The wealth of surprises and final twist at the book's conclusion will keep readers riveted up to the last page. Whether group therapy is ultimately an effective treatment or symptom of the pathologising of navel-gazing, Group is a powerful narrative of our time. --Fiona Buckland
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Solotaroff writes with understanding and empathy about the group therapy sessions of six individuals. It reads like a novel and I read it in just a few sittings because I wanted to find out how their lives turned out. For anyone who is interested in improving their lives or getting some insight into the lives of others this makes for an interesting and thought provoking read. Although Solotaroff is quick to point out that his intention is not to write a self-help book, I think it unlikely that anyone would come away from the book without more insight about human nature and possibly themselves.
I recommend it strongly.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Group is the story of six New Yorkers, each with their own problems who seek help from therapy. It follows their personal 'stories' over the one year course of group therapy, recounting the high and lows and charting the relationships formed (and in some cases not) between the members. If you are of a curious disposition, or just downright nosey like me, then you should really enjoy it! Well written and with such pace I had to keep reminding myself that this was not a work of fiction - these are real people with real problems, which makes the revalation at the end of the book even more shocking!
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Paul Solotaroff takes a very personel look into the world of Group Therapy. Revealing, mind provoking and entertaining all rolled into one. Reading this collection of personel stories, one can't help to take inventory of their our life's story. As a Graduate student in counseling this takes your from the textbooks to the the real world. It's all real and it's all good.
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
No bunk. This is what therapy is supposed to be about. This is what life-changing therapy is really like. Not easy, not fun, but hard, gut-wrenching work that can change lives for the better. I highly recommend this book. Not only does it tell the truth about good group therapy, it's also entertaining, gripping, and a great read.
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Combining drum-tight writing with breathtaking insight, author Solotaroff allows you to eavesdrop along with him on the might and majesty of Dr. Lathon's brilliantly crafted methodology for Group therapy.
While emphatically not a how-to book, only the most defended of readers will fail to find applicable wisdom here. Hats off to author, doctor and most of all to the group that allowed its story-- so credible and so human in its imperfection--to be told.
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Solotaroff's superb writing is nearly as splendiferous as his subject, the towering "Charles Lathon," who he depicts with preternatural skill. The Lathon who lives in these pages is the real McCoy, drawn (with the Group itself, warts and all) from real life. I know, because I know Lathon as well as Solotaroff does; and from personal experience I know the power of his coaching.
It's a gripping story. The characters don't so much leap from the page as, through Solotaroff's unerring sense of mood, setting, and telling detail, draw you in to Lathon's crucible of an office.
I know no better way to convey the power of Group than to suggest the ideal cast for Group: The Movie.
Lathon...Anthony Hopkins; Sara...Sharon Stone; Rex...Tom Cruise; Dylan...Tom Hanks; Lina...Sally Field; Peter...Hugh Grant; Jack...Harrison Ford; and The Writer...Jeff Goldblum.
Be prepared to read Group in a single sitting, and schedule time at the end to recover from the impact.
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Well-written, insightful account of six "average" NewYorkers in group therapy trying to overcome the pain in their lives that is holding them back from connecting with themselves and achieving happiness.
The pacing is terrific and the writing is direct, clear and flowing, capturing both the characters' emotions and the observations of the writer as he follows their journey. The outcome is uncertain so that the ending provides some of the satisfaction of a good thriller, in which the loose ends are tied up, although with several twists (and not all endings are happy).
I bought this book on the day of publication and read it cover to cover in 24 hours, only stopping to write notes on insights that seemed particularly relevant to my own life. And then I read it again - yes, it is that good...
The main quibble I have is the fact that the group is quite non-diverse, all being white affluent heterosexual New Yorkers. Even so, I could relate to them as they revealed their self-destructive problems and pain.
I recommend this book especially to those who are in group therapy or considering it, but are not fully sure of its relevance and value; this book provides a vivid illustration of just how success happens in that environment, even for those who seem to be lost causes.
In summary, a great read and valuable reinforcement of the usefulness of group therapy...
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