Content Warning: This section contains references to child abuse, substance misuse, verbal and physical abuse, sexual assault including rape, suicide, and suicide ideation.

Dr. Catherine Gildiner narrates the book, conveying the experience of providing therapy from her own point of view. As a Clinical Psychologist, Gildiner is trained and licensed to provide treatment and maintains a high level of professionalism in her interaction with patients, and this gives credibility to her voice in the book and its narrative. She is attuned to her patients’ needs and fears and proceeds with caution when she senses that a patient is unwilling to speak on certain topics. She notes that this skill has been honed with years of experience and that it is this coupled with her knowledge, training, and observation of other psychologists through mentoring, that she has become a successful therapist.

The book provides readers a glimpse into Gildiner’s progress as a therapist by profiling both her very first patient (Laura) and her very last patient (Madeline), and three in between in chronological order. In reflecting on her career over time, Gildiner is able to identify the ways her techniques have evolved.