I couldn't get on with this book at all. Within the first few pages, I knew this wasn't going to be one for me. While I'm all for trying different kinds of therapy this just seemed very privileged and had a feeling of 'first world problems' about it. While I don't doubt that the author had her struggles, the kind of narrative just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Memoir is difficult to review because I don’t think anyone is in a position to tell anyone else that they should or shouldn’t write about their lives. Or that they should write about it differently than they’ve chosen. With this is in mind, I must admit that My Life in 37 Therapies did not strike the note for me that I expected it to.

Described as “part memoir, part guide”, I thought there would be more analysis of the 37 therapies Kay Hutchison tried in her search for happiness and a deeper sense of peace. This did not happen. In fact some of the therapies described are only mentioned briefly making it much more memoir than guide.

Sorry to say I wasn’t too keen on this book. I didn’t feel like the story flowed, it kept jumping around. I also didn’t feel like I learnt a lot from the 37 therapies, it’s like she had them, but didn’t really comment on them or how they helped her. She also came across as coming from money, which is where the 37 therapies aren’t for everyone’s financial situations.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I honestly couldn't get into this book. I was expecting there to be a lot more description of the thirty-seven therapies, but a lot of them were just briefly mentioned in passing as the author went on about her life. From the very first chapter, the narrator came across as entitled and I did not find her relatable.

Thank you Netgally and the author for the free review copy.

I'm sad to say this was a dnf for me. I thought it would be funny, in the beginning it was fine. Then it became triggering.

So just a trigger warning to fellow readers. There is animal abuse. Had I known that I would not have requested this.

DNF at 23% - just could not get past the passage where tiny newborn puppies are drowned, then the remaining puppy dying just after. Completely put me off - feel there should be a trigger warning about this incident!

The author writes an entertaining, compelling look at various New Age therapies she's tried, in order to manage her colorful life. Always candid, always engaging, she takes us on a roller coaster ride through Reikki, meditation, colonic irrigation and more. I hope she writes a follow up book because she is definitely an author to watch. Highly recommend.

I'm going to start this review with saying that Hutchison is a very good writer in terms of putting together sentences and creating a good flow. But this book was not what the blurb made it out to be. It is a "memoir" in the sense that the author talks about her life and going through some hard times. It is not a memoir in the sense that we never get to see anything more than what the author actually did. Yes, she went through 37 therapies but we don't get any sense of why those therapies were picked or what she learned from any of them. And without that connection, this is an okay book but mostly feels self-indulgent and definitely nothing that makes me want to pick up anything else by the author. What could have made this book better? Mix the Glossary in with the actual therapies. Get more into the history. Tell us more about which therapies actually worked and why it worked for her.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out March 3
ARC kindly provided by Belle Media and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

This was definitely not for me. I was expecting the author to share why she was doing these therapies, and describe them, but more than that, share her thoughts on how they worked on did not work for her, and maybe even make some recommendations. Instead it was a I did this, then did that and then moved on to this. There was not even any humor which I definitely expected because of the title.

I always try to not judge memoirs, as they are so personal, but the stories the author shared from her past felt like EXTREME first world problems, and I just could not feel any sympathy.

Unfortunately there is not a lot of positive feedback I can provide about this book. Yes, it presents a user’s perspective on a vast range of alternative therapies. Yes, the author, Kay Hutchison, „bares it all“ and is very open about her struggle with relationships and being herself. But I am yet to understand who she was writing this book for and why.
The story starts with her leaving her husband of many years on a very luxurious holiday in France. It becomes apparent that she lives a very privileged life and the remainder of the book reads like a testimony of how privileged her life actually is (but also how empty). And this is not even what I believe Kay Hutchison intended consciously to do with this book.
After leaving her husband, she then meets a man who is already married and wouldn't leave his marriage to be with her. And the remainder of the book delves mostly into all the retreats and therapies she embarks on to understand why this is all happening to her.
Whilst the subject matter is something many women might relate to, the quality of writing makes the book very difficult to read, as it is very rigid, lacks literary flair and does not improve as the book goes along. For example on one page, there were three lists that extended over 2 lines. This writing style loses a reader in no time. There is also hardly any humor or lightness that could make the reading any more palatable.
The book reads in most places like diary entries, describing the sequence of events rather that providing an insight in how the therapies relate to her healing.. The number of therapies she embarked on and the countries where she would go to are evidence that money is obviously not an issue. It is difficult to relate to such excess and also to her dependence on solutions though these therapies, The book also does not provide a lot of useful information on the therapies discussed that is not also available from a simple internet search.
I would not recommend this book to anyone. It definitely is a very brave book to write and publish, but does not have the effect that it probably set out to have.

The idea of the book is good but the execution is disappointing. The book is quite confusing and jumps all over the place without really starting or finishing anything. You never know where you are. It is hard to uncover the person writing the book, and also hard to relate to anyone who is able to live their life in such a free way. Not many people would be able to flit from one expensive retreat to another. Her story is never fully told either, you just get disjointed snippets so its hard to piece it all together. There is also a lack of emotion and feeling, even in the parts that should tug at your heart strings. Strange book, maybe a bit of editing and pulling it all together would make it an easier read. Having said that I think there will be lots of people who will relate to it and enjoy the read, it just wasn't for me.

I really took this book to heart, it really spoke to me. The author was knowledgeable and had such good advice. It makes you look at it with a different perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as Belle Media for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really hopeful about this book as the title as well as the synopsis really drew me in, however in the end it just didn't connect for me. Despite this being a memoir of sorts, I didn't feel I really knew the author well by the end, and found it hard to connect to her. It was made harder, perhaps, because the timelines weren't clear. There were several instances in which I wondered when things were happening and felt confused.

I did enjoy learning about the different methods of therapy the author partook in, I just don't think it quite hit the mark for me.

Would not recommend. Kay Hutchison is also a wealthy white woman who is able to afford and travel to experience all of these "therapies," and she does not address this at all in the book.

As a person who hasn't tried a lot of types of therapy, but has had my eye on a few, I was intrigued to read this book and see what therapies this author tried and if any are on my list.

The parts where she tried therapies were interesting, but mixed within them she travels back in time and tells stories of her past that led her to the therapies. What I didn't love about these parts was they seemed to pop in at weird times and were in no way chronological, so almost made the book confusing.

What struck me most about the book was once she started trying therapies each one almost led to the next. With recommendations from friends and unique places, once she tried one she was organically led to the next and I hope that I can find a few therapies this way!

This wasn't the book I was hoping for when I went into reading a book about alternative therapies, but it did inspire me to get out there and try a few. I see a float therapy or a salt room in my future!

I’m not going to finish this one. I found it cringe-worthy from the first page and it’s just getting more so as I read. Definitely not for me.