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Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: The Workbook by Lori Gottlieb Review: A Companion Guide for Self-Editing Your Story
Published by PESI Publishing in November 2021, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: The Workbook is a companion workbook by Lori Gottlieb, designed to extend the therapeutic framework of her New York Times bestselling memoir into a structured, interactive self-help guide — built around exercises, writing prompts, and concepts drawn from the original book's patient stories.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers who loved and heavily annotated the original Maybe You Should Talk to Someone memoir and want a structured, narrative-driven workbook to actively apply its therapeutic concepts — particularly those drawn to journaling-style self-reflection, book clubs, or therapists seeking a supplemental client resource.
Worth it if
Worth engaging with if you've read the memoir and responded to Gottlieb's central argument that changing the stories we tell about ourselves can change our lives — the workbook translates that framework into guided exercises with the depth and empathy of the source material.
Skip if
Skip it if you haven't read the original memoir and want a standalone clinical self-help resource — the workbook's reliance on real patient figures like John and Charlotte will carry less emotional weight without prior familiarity, and its meditative, story-centred format won't satisfy readers seeking evidence-based technique instruction.
What readers & critics say
Critical reception centres firmly on the original memoir: Kirkus Reviews awarded it a starred review, calling it "an irresistibly addictive tour of the human condition" written with "great empathy and compassion," and named it one of its Best Books of 2019 (kirkusreviews.com). Reader reviewers at thewordyhabitat.com ranked the memoir among their best books of the year, praising it as "personal, revealing, funny, and wise" and crediting it with opening "a rare window onto a world most often bound by secrecy." The workbook itself is positioned by lorigottlieb.com as a direct response to the mass reader demand generated by that reception.
“Saturated with self-awareness and compassion, this is an irresistibly addictive tour of the human condition.”
— Kirkus Reviews4.6from 641 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Look inside the book
Preview the actual pages, via Google BooksIn This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Workbook Is and What It Contains
- Its Place in the Memoir's Larger Reach
- Strengths: Structure and Therapeutic Framework
- Honest Limitations: Scope and Prerequisites
- Who This Workbook Is For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Rooted in the real patient stories from the beloved original memoir, giving exercises a specific, narrative richness uncommon in self-help workbooks
- Combines writing prompts, thought-provoking exercises, and therapeutic concepts into a single structured guide
- Draws on Gottlieb's dual perspective as both a practicing psychotherapist and a therapy patient, lending the framework unusual depth and self-awareness
- Responds directly to reader demand from the New York Times bestselling memoir, making it a purpose-built extension of a proven work
- Designed to function simultaneously as an experience, a meditation, and a practical toolkit — offering multiple modes of engagement
What Doesn't
- Readers unfamiliar with the original memoir may find the references to specific patients less emotionally resonant, as the workbook is explicitly a companion to that book
- The introspective, journaling-style format suits self-directed readers but may feel insufficiently clinical or technique-focused for those seeking structured therapeutic instruction
This companion workbook stands on its own as a practical, structured self-help tool rooted in the therapeutic concepts and patient stories that made the original memoir a New York Times bestseller.
What the Workbook Is and What It Contains
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: The Workbook is not a memoir, novel, or condensed version of Lori Gottlieb's book — it is a standalone companion workbook published by PESI Publishing in November 2021. Its design premise, as described on Gottlieb's own site, is to function as "an experience, a meditation, and a practical toolkit combined into one." The workbook draws on eye-opening concepts, thought-provoking exercises, compelling writing prompts, and real examples from the patients featured in the original memoir — John, Charlotte, and others — to guide readers through a process of examining the personal narratives that shape their lives. Its central framework positions readers as editors of their own stories, asking them to identify which narratives to keep and which to revise in pursuit of what Gottlieb's site calls "our own personal masterpieces."
“a revolutionary method for understanding which stories to keep and which to revise”
Its Place in the Memoir's Larger Reach
The workbook emerged directly from the reception of the original memoir, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. That book — in which Gottlieb chronicled her own experience entering therapy with a therapist named Wendell following a sudden breakup, while simultaneously portraying four patients in her own practice — became, as Kirkus Reviews described it in a starred review, "an irresistibly addictive tour of the human condition," earning a place on the New York Times bestseller list for Hardcover Nonfiction. Kirkus named it one of its Best Books of 2019. The workbook's origin story is rooted in reader demand: according to lorigottlieb.com, as millions of readers highlighted and underlined the memoir, a movement took shape, and they asked Gottlieb for a guide as transformative as the book itself. The workbook is the direct answer to that request.
Strengths: Structure and Therapeutic Framework
The workbook's primary design strength is its use of the memoir's real patient stories — John, Charlotte, and others — as anchoring examples within exercises, rather than constructing abstract hypotheticals. This grounding in specific human cases gives the prompts a narrative texture uncommon in self-help workbooks. The framework itself — understanding which personal stories to keep and which to revise — draws on Gottlieb's dual perspective as both a practicing psychotherapist and someone who has herself undergone therapy, a duality that Kirkus noted gives the original work unusual depth and self-awareness. The workbook channels that same "great empathy and compassion," as Kirkus characterized Gottlieb's approach, into an interactive format structured for guided self-reflection.
Honest Limitations: Scope and Prerequisites
The workbook is explicitly a companion to the memoir, and readers who come to it without familiarity with the original book's patients and their stories may find some of the "real examples" less resonant than they would for readers already emotionally invested in those figures. The format — exercises, writing prompts, guided reflection — is by design introspective and text-driven, which will suit readers drawn to journaling-style self-help but may feel less immediately practical for those seeking clinical instruction or evidence-based technique breakdowns. As a companion workbook rather than a standalone therapeutic resource, its value is closely tethered to the reader's engagement with the source material and willingness to participate actively in the writing exercises it presents.
Who This Workbook Is For
Readers who found themselves underlining passages in the memoir — particularly those drawn to Gottlieb's core argument that changing the stories we tell about ourselves can change our lives — are the workbook's natural audience. It is also well-positioned for book clubs, therapists looking for a supplemental client resource, or anyone navigating a period of personal transition who wants a structured, narrative-driven approach to self-examination. Lorigottlieb.com describes it as offering "a revolutionary method for understanding which stories to keep and which to revise," language that signals its aspirational, empowerment-focused tone. Readers seeking a purely clinical self-help manual will find a different kind of book here — one more meditative and story-centered than prescriptive.
Frequently Asked Questions
do i need to read the original memoir before Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: The Workbook by Lori Gottlieb
You don't strictly need to, but the review is honest that it helps — the workbook draws on real patient stories like John and Charlotte from the memoir, and readers who aren't already emotionally invested in those figures may find the examples less resonant. The workbook emerged directly from reader demand after the memoir became a New York Times bestseller, so familiarity with the source material gives the exercises more depth and payoff.
Is this book worth reading
It's worth it if you're the right reader — specifically, someone who found themselves underlining passages in the original memoir and is drawn to Gottlieb's core argument that changing the stories we tell about ourselves can change our lives. The review notes it's also well-suited for book clubs, therapists looking for a supplemental client resource, or anyone navigating a period of personal transition, but readers expecting a clinical manual will find something more meditative and story-centered than prescriptive.
What is this book actually about
It's a structured, interactive self-help companion built around exercises, writing prompts, and real patient examples — John, Charlotte, and others — from Gottlieb's original memoir. The central framework positions readers as editors of their own stories, asking them to identify which personal narratives to keep and which to revise, with Gottlieb's own site describing it as "an experience, a meditation, and a practical toolkit combined into one."
Does this book actually work for self-reflection
The review highlights that its biggest design strength is grounding exercises in specific human cases — the memoir's real patients — which gives the prompts a narrative texture uncommon in self-help workbooks, rather than relying on abstract hypotheticals. That said, its value is closely tethered to the reader's willingness to actively participate in the writing exercises, so it works best for those drawn to a journaling-style, introspective approach rather than those seeking evidence-based technique breakdowns.
Is this book good for therapists to use with clients
The review specifically calls it well-positioned for therapists looking for a supplemental client resource, thanks to Gottlieb's dual perspective as both a practicing psychotherapist and someone who has undergone therapy herself. Kirkus noted this duality gives the original work unusual depth and self-awareness, and the workbook channels that same "great empathy and compassion" into an interactive, guided format.
Is this book similar to the original memoir
It's a companion to the memoir — not a condensed version, novel, or memoir itself — so the experience is quite different in form. Where the original book told the story of Gottlieb entering therapy with Wendell and portraying four patients, the workbook turns those stories and concepts into exercises and writing prompts designed for your own self-examination.
Who is this book best for
The review identifies its natural audience as readers who connected deeply with the original memoir, book clubs, therapists seeking a client supplement, and anyone going through a period of personal transition who wants a narrative-driven approach to self-examination. It's less suited to readers looking for a purely clinical or prescriptive self-help manual — its tone, as Gottlieb's own site signals, is aspirational and empowerment-focused rather than instructional.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
kirkusreviews.com
- 2
lorigottlieb.com
- Further reading
- 3
Lori Gottlieb, Wikipedia
- 4
en.wikipedia.org
- 5
- 6
- 7
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- 9
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