A series of short stories, interconnected by a therapist, make up this fascinating and human-exploring book about the demons that people face

Plot: Therapy sessions told from the perspective of the psychologist.

triggers: cheating,

Opinion: Whenever I read a book I always try not to judge a book by it's cover and also try to read past 50% for me to give an adequate review. This book was a complete and total waste of time and brain power in reading it. I absolutely abhor the writing style, It's simply repetitive and unproductive. The therapy sessions described in the book honestly would have received complaints because it was just basically the therapist repeating everything the client said back to them. I understand that yes, repetition is an effective tool in communication but to use to address psychological and mental health matters without providing a resolution is an absolutely incorrect manner in which to portray therapy. Secondly, the introduction or whatever you want to call that was a whole 3 pages of complete jargon. I get that the writer was trying to approach the book or 'being human' from a philosophical point of view but it read as utter jargon.

Recommendation: if I could give a book 0⭐️s I would. Good luck to all who attempt this book. I highly doubt I will be reading anything else from this author.

I enjoyed this book. I liked seeing things from a therapists point of view and the characters life through their therapy sessions. It did get a little annoying when the therapist repeated their questions back constantly but I understand why this was done. Overall a good book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Overall I did like this book. The premise is excellent, the characters are interesting, there’s a refreshingly honest insight into the perspective of the therapist. The constant reflection and mirroring of the client’s speech, though, I found incredibly annoying. Yes, it’s Rogerian, it’s person-centred, it’s all that, but it’s also really jarring and made me very happy I’ve never experienced that in therapy. I found it very overdone and difficult to read. Overall though, a good read, once you manage to tune out the reflecting.

I am sorry to say, I could not finish this book. The author is a good writer, and the concept was compelling to me (basically vignettes of fictional interactions between a therapist and her patients). My problem was with the use of the "reflexive listening" technique that repeated throughout the first chapters of the book. I can only assume the rest of the book with continue in the same vein. Here's an example:
Patient: " loved my husband but I couldn't stay, I couldn't thrive and I felt stifled and stuck."
Therapist: "You had to leave your marriage beause you felt stifled and stuck."
This went on and on and on. While I have no doubt that is how therapists really talk to patients, it did not translate well into the format of the book.
2 stars out of 5.

This book has such a unique premise. Some of the stories are hard going, it's not a light look through the window of the therapy room. But definitely worth reading. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an eARC.

Fifty Minutes is immersing and complex. I enjoyed following the characters through the different aspects of their lives. Seeing peoples' lives fifty minutes at a time is an interesting perspective and I found that it made me self reflect. In the snippets of their lives, I was able to see parts of my own life and was able to do some self reflecting.

Fifty Minutes discusses a myriad of life events so read with caution if you are trying to avoid certain triggers.

As someone who has spent time in therapy and contemplated the idea of pursuing a career in counseling, I really enjoyed this novel. It was fascinating to "see" things from the side of the therapist and I appreciated gaining a better understanding of some of the approaches which counselors use. There was nothing clinical about the story - it felt accessible even for someone who has no experience with the topic (as either patient or practitioner).

The book reads somewhat like a play, as the majority of the narrative is told exclusively through dialogue, yet it still flowed as novel, with moments of self-reflection and explanation by the therapist character. I appreciated this - sometimes I find myself getting lost in dialogue - and the moments of explanation/self-reflection offered up helped to ground me in aspects of the story. It also allowed me the chance to build connection with the main character, something which was definitely needed, as the cast of characters was changing literally every chapter. The stories each character shared were "everyday" experiences - there were no lavish or outlandish tales - which added to the text's relatability.

Overall, Fifty Minutes was a light read (got done with it in an afternoon) that offered an enjoyable look into the mind of a therapist and the practice of therapy. An enjoyable read!

This was a unique read.
Well written, interesting.
Short chapters, therapy sessions.
Deals with death, suicide, cancer and more...
Insightful and not boring at all.
Easy, quick, read but interesting from the start.
This made me think about life, struggles... how I wish I was strong enough to open up to someone....

I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Fifty Minutes has a definite unique premise. We only see the workings of the sessions a therapist has with her clients. We see only a narrow window of all the characters in the book including the therapist. For me, it left me wanting more. I like a slice of life fiction; but, the repetitive nature of therapy and the small amount of inner thoughts made for a lackluster story. For a fiction audience, the story may be too realistically dull to carry as there is no real plot nor outcome. However, I feel like this would be a great teaching tool for future therapists thinking about going into counseling to get a feel of the work.

As someone who strongly believes in therapy and goes on a semi-regular basis this book was amazing. I really connected to the skepticism that a lot of people face when going into therapy, the wanting to hide how they are feeling, how they want to put on a front of how they are really truly feeling. They avoid the help they truly need. This book really opened my eyes to how much more honest I need to be with myself, and my therapist if I want help. Plus the stories were pretty exciting and interesting! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this-- I loved being able to see not only the story of clients, but also that of the therapists throughout each fifty minute session. As someone who struggles with going to therapy, I was able to relate to some of the clients, and some of the therapists and clients conclusions hit hard. When some of the clients were angry with the therapists responses, I found myself understanding finally why therapy works the way it does and how it may not seem so to begin with. I am unsure whether I just do not understand the "point" of the story, but while I followed along, I did feel as though there was some part missing, though I do not know what.

** A copy of this book was received in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley

This was a hard book to read simply because of its content. Some stories I couldn’t get through because they were just too upsetting. The overall takeaway from this book is to treat people with kindness and compassion because you don’t know their private life.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be our 'self'? How can we overcome the painful problems and behaviours that cause suffering? How do we live with grief and loss? How can therapy help?

These fictionalized stories of individuals in therapy not only make for fascinating reading, they also illuminate some of the answers to these questions. The author's foreword alone makes the book worth reading and each character's story and problem are relatable and compelling.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the therapeutic process or for fans of shows such as the HBO series "In Treatment".

The description of the book really caught my eye. I was curious to see what issues the characters would have, and how the therapist would react, where the train of thoughts would go.

The book starts with a intro, that looked a bit too much to me - a bit too dramatic, given I expected something a bit more realistic, non-fictional explanation before we met the fictional characters. It wasn't bad per se, but definitely not what I expected, which disappointed me a bit.
After the intro, we get to see session after session, with some of the patients appearing only for one session, some for more. It was interesting to see an array of some very different people being presented, although I'm a bit surprised in how many of the cases cheating was involved - I think with only one patient character we don't see it at all. I was, in a way, hoping to see more diverse issues between the patients.
In the text we also see how the therapist thinks and feels while the patients talk with her, which adds an interesting touch to the sessions. However, I was a bit surprised at the therapist's own feelings and reactions at moments, then again - as many different people there are, there at at least that many different reactions that could occur, and they weren't unrealistic, just surprising to me.

Throughout the book, the narrator is the therapist, which makes the book feel a bit like a memoir. Reading the book was overall a nice journey and, while I don't personally feel moved by the stories, I can see how they could affect, even help other readers.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Matador for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you to net galley and the author for the ability to read

Perhaps because i am a therapist I loved this,
Luke was definitely my favorite so raw and angry

Rosie... but where does she begin

I would definitely recommend to anyone with in the field

Julie Webb brings you into fictional dialogues in the therapy room that make you think. The patients all have concerns that they want to work through and through guidance, solutions are usually developed. It can be very helpful to read to better consult your own problems or just make you think about things from a new perspective..

This can also be a great introduction to therapy if you are afraid or anxious of what a therapy appointment is like.