Lori Gottlieb

4.11134 learners

In this raw, unflinching memoir, seasoned therapist Lori Gottlieb pulls back the curtain on psychotherapy—by stepping into the client’s chair herself. When her long-term partner abruptly leaves her, refusing to raise her young son, Gottlieb is thrown into grief, self-doubt, and existential panic. Forced to confront her own unprocessed pain, she seeks treatment with Wendell Bronson, a wise, no-nonsense therapist who challenges her to look beyond anger and denial. Interwoven with her journey are stories of four clients: John, a narcissistic screenwriter masking crippling grief over his late son; Julie, a newlywed professor fighting terminal cancer; Rita, a 69-year-old planning to end her life if she doesn’t find meaning by 70; and Charlotte, a 25-year-old paralyzed by anxiety and alcoholism. As Gottlieb guides her clients through darkness, she learns therapy is never one-sided—healing happens when both therapist and client embrace vulnerability, confront truths, and choose to grow.

Paul Kalanithi

4.5786 learners

Paul Kalanithi’s intimate memoir, *When Breath Becomes Air*, traces his journey from a curious Arizona desert kid to a rising neurosurgeon on the cusp of a groundbreaking career—only to be diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer at 36. We follow his evolution: from devouring classic literature under his mother’s tutelage to bridging science and humanities at Stanford, then navigating grueling neurosurgery residency where he grappled with life-or-death decisions and the weight of medical responsibility. When his diagnosis upends his identity from healer to patient, Kalanithi confronts the very questions he once posed to patients: What makes a life worth living? How do we reconcile mortality with purpose? Raw, luminous, and deeply human, this book weaves his final months, the birth of his daughter, and profound reflections on love, legacy, and existence into a timeless meditation on what it means to be alive.