The Group: Six People in Search of a Life

by Paul Solotaroff

Book Overview

This unique bestseller takes readers behind the closed doors of a group therapy session, introducing them to six patients and a therapist who guides them through their emotional minefields. A fabulous... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573220655
• ISBN13: 9781573220651
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

thumbs up

I really enjoyed this book. It is written in an easily readible style that compels you to keep reading. I started to feel as if I knew the characters. I was happy for the successes and disappointed in the failures. I was especially disheartened when the therapist proved to be "human" as well. A must read for anyone interested in discovering themselves or in the psychotherapy profession!

Keenly observed, elegantly written

This is a fine book, tracing the progress of group therapy involving six participants and the group leader, a psychiatrist qualified as a psychopharmocologist. The author is an acute observer of human behavior and offers deft sketches of these intelligent and troubled people and of their equally intelligent and equally troubled leader. His exploration of the dynamics of the group and of the actions of its members is acute and compassionate and his writing is fresh and articulate. This is a richly-drawn,carefully observed sketch of human pathology and recovery. It will be hard to avoid recognizing aspects of yourself in all of these characters. The writing is clear and unobtrusively elegant. Read and enjoy.

A moving and credible portrait of group therapy.

As a practicing group therapist, active group member and teacher of group therapy, I was delighted to read Paul Solotaroff's account of one group's experience in therapy. Initially, I expected little, but within minutes I was transported. Mr. Solotaroff has provided the interested reader with a fascinating portrait of the guts of group therapy. He has a keen eye for detail, a sure grasp of language and a great feeling for the drama of group life. Vividly depicting his subject's self-destructive impasses and the group's healing power, Solotaroff should be commended for his contribution to the very small literature of what group therapy actually "looks like." To be sure this is not everybody's group therapy experience. There are many approaches and styles of doing group. But this book captures something beyond theraputic ideology. It gets at the root forces which move people to seek groups as pathways to growth and change. For that alone, this book deserves five stars.

As a Graduate student in counseling, It's "Outstanding"

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.

Riveting page-turner of people fighting for their lives

Well-written, insightful account of six "average" NewYorkers in group therapy trying to overcome the pain in their livesthat 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...