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Sessioni D'amore (2013)

by Cheryl T. Cohen Greene(Favorite Author)

3.79 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

8863805709 (ISBN13: 9788863805703)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Corbaccio

review 1: Any book that starts with "I've had 900 sex partners" is bound to be interesting. The author works as a "surrogate partner," someone who acts as a stand-in sex partner to people who have various sexual issues, both physical and emotional, in order to teach them to have healthy, communicative sex with their partner. I know a lot of people have been splitting hairs about whether or not the work is really prostitution, and to be honest, I do think that it is, but I don't know that that's really relevant (I'm of the opinion that prostitution's illegality is idiotic). The author has a PhD in human sexuality and works in conjunction with the client's therapist, so if it is prostitution it's an awfully official kind.The subject matter is fascinating, but the writing leaves a good... more bit to be desired- as is often the issue with memoirs, which aren't written by writers usually. The quoted dialogue from past conversations in the author's life is generic and clunky, obviously made up instead of remembered. This leaves you wondering what else is made up. And the author still has a lot of bitterness surrounding her Catholic upbringing and her parents, which she lets spill over into her sessions with her clients. So that made me super uncomfortable...if you're trying to legitimize a profession, hauling your personal issues into the therapy isn't really the way to do it.So the subject matter is odd and interesting, and pushes a lot of boundaries between what is traditionally accepted as "therapy." I recommend it, but don't go expecting Tolstoy in the prose.
review 2: I hadn’t seen the movie, “Sessions,” prior to reading this book. I was interested in learning more about Cheryl after reading some reviews and seeing an interview with Helen Hunt, who portrays Cheryl in the movie and was nominated for Best Actress for an Academy Award.The chapters switch between Cheryl’s surrogate clients and her work with each individual, and her personal life, discussing her conservative upbringing, her nonconformist marriage, motherhood, and what lead to her choosing her career as a sex surrogate. Her story is unique and direct.I found it very interesting that she had such a hypocritical, judgmental view of her first husband’s choices. And her acrimonious attitude toward her mother’s conservative views seemed self-righteous to me. There is a big contrast to her character. She’s both compassionate and self-righteous.What I missed from her clinical work was how her patients’ spouses/partners were included/excluded from her work. Perhaps that was discussed with the referring practitioner prior to them seeing Cheryl, but she didn’t address that aspect. The book is very different from the movie. If you’ve seen the movie, there’s a fascinating contrast between this book and the film. less

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