Structure

Gildiner breaks her book down into five separate stories, each featuring one of her five patients. These stories follow the process of therapy, with Gildiner generally opening each story with a description of the person with whom she will be conducting therapy. For instance, in Alana's story, Gildiner describes Alana’s distress during her first visit: “By now she was taking short, stabbing breaths that sounded like the Little Engine That Could climbing the mountain. She was so pale that even her freckles were fading” (205).

Gildiner moves on to describe her sessions with each patient chronologically, identifying major breakthroughs and noting when things did not go according to plan. For instance, when Gildiner is working with Danny: “Then something shocking happened. Danny got up and left in the middle of a session. I had no idea why. He didn't show up for his next appointment, or the...