This is the first book I have read by Julia Samuel and I really enjoyed it. I was blown away by the stories, fantastically written. Need to listen to her podcasts now.

Good for parents. The topics covered are things we will all face in life so its good to get some expert advice on how to deal with them a little better. As a mum of teens, who have lost grandparents, its helpful to have some tips on how to deal with these really difficult times,

Thanks to net galley for this free read. I already have a couple of books by Julia Samuel which I have read for research in my volunteer role as a bereavement support worker. This book was just as useful and gave me more ideas for use in my volunteer work as the others.
Thanks again to net galley for the free read.

Filled with compassion and an urgent call for looking at grief and death in a better more holistic way. An important book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is a thoughtfully factual account of the work of a counsellor, using anonymous case studies from her own practice.

There is always interest in reading about the work of a professional and this is no exception. We are led into the lives of families, given the opportunity to read about the experiences and reactions of family members and then led through the responses of the counsellor.

A simple, thoughtful structure, detailed and carefully referenced. A range of situations are explored and there us much to be learned from this work. Well worth reading.

Whilst this was an interesting insight into lots of different families with different problems, I felt the author at times wished too often that she was friends with them rather than staying detached, which felt rather unprofessional.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

Julia Samuel's books make psychotherapy open to all. In this book she takes the family structure in different ways as the basis for resolving those times where families go through difficult times or try to negotiate change.

She has to acknowledge that working through Covid brought its own pressures on the work with family members but also presented with new opportunities for family members who were distanced geographically from each other.
Different family structures are examined in case studies that illuminate everything from a family impacted by grief , gay parenting, facing a life limiting disease/diagnosis , to transgenerational trauma. Samuels is always at pains to pull out the salient points that we can apply to our own unique family situation.

Without looking at the pain that families go through there can't be change "discomfort brings growth"

Wise Julia also notes
"...while we hold fixed views , we stay emotionally stuck. Shifting our lens can open us up to new and liberating emotions "


The overriding theme for me was
"we can only fix what we can face" . This book gives you some courage, hope and tools to maybe face what is happening within our own family.

Psychotherapist Julia Samuel's third book focuses on 8 family case studies where she explores issues such as loss and step relationships and how they are impacted by family dynamics and inherited trauma. She provides insights into family life and gives the reader tools they can use in their own families. I love the work of Julia Samuels and she has written powerfully in previous books about grief. I found Every Family Has A Story to be an accessible and interesting read but would have liked more in depth analysis especially at the end of each section.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

As a mental health practitioner, I was drawn to "Every Family Has a Story" by Julia Samuel. Family dynamics, schemas, as well as trans-generational trauma are such interesting topics to explore, especially as real life case studies. I hoped to learn a lot from this book, but was left with so little.

Julia Samuel conducted sessions with 8 families, exploring their issues: hidden resentments, facing terminal illness, lack of acceptance. On one hand, it's very admirable she found these subjects to have their stories feature in the book, but on the other, the commentaries and choices on what to include on the pages felt odd, almost superficial.

What I missed, was a clearer explanation of chosen interventions from the context of each case study. The author spends a lot of time talking about her clients, but doesn't seem to go too in-depth. Even though I appreciate the theory break down at the end of the book, this is exactly what I missed within the family stories.

I understand this book is not directed at clinicians, however many readers would benefit from having even simplified insight of the applied theory.

We’ll written and may be interesting as an audio book but just not that interesting to read. The cases are well explained but it just didn’t draw me in,

I think it's safe to say I really love Julia Samuel and her work. I've started this but it wasn't really working for me. The cases were a bit superficial(not sure it this is the right word to use, but for lack of a better word...), rather rushed, with not enough depth for my liking. But then I've signed up to an online conversation with Julia and she really convinced me. It's truly a joy listening to her talking. Despite the event being just an hour long, I've learned so much. And I obviously couldn't agree more with what she was saying, with her insights. Her wisdom is so rewarding and motivating at the same time. Watching this event motivated me to persevere with the book. As the cases got more and more interesting and therefore more insightful, so my enjoyment grew. What stands out, just like in her previous book, is the fact that Julia is a great storyteller. She really pulls you in, you feel immersed in each and every case she is describing. You feel the roller-coaster of emotions each person goes through, and you rejoice along side them when they emerge on the other side of the precipice. In particular I've been fascinated by the Berger family - I am sure it has been an incredible experience for Julia to be part of their story, as it was for me as a reader. Also Craig's story has been so very touching and numbing at the same time, life's cruelty knows no bounds!

*Many thanks for the opportunity to read this!

This is such a wonderful book. Feel good, beautifully written with wonderful collection of real stories. Moving and lovely

Not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps, stop/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC. This is a brilliant read - it's beautifully written and so insightful in the complexities and cares of families. I love the way she uses the stories of families she's worked with and it has a great range of what family represents.

This book is fantastic and the stories used are so wide ranging. Julia writes so honestly about learning from her clients.

There is nothing I am more curious and fascinated by than families, and I can't help but compare and contrast what I see and know about other families with the messy and chaotic nature of my own family. Family is the subject of psychotherapist Julia Samuel latest book, it is the basic building block of society's structures, many may believe that families provide love, care, safety and security, there to insulate its members against the madness and dangers of the real world. In truth, families can be so much more complicated, more problematic and with their own peculiar dysfunctions that may include violence, neglect, and abuse. Families have their own family systems, those who holds power, the roles played within, intergenerational traumas that are never acknowledged or talked about, irrational, containing closely held secrets and silences that inhibit the ability to be open and address issues. Here the goal is to address some of those issues, so that in the future, family dynamics have the potential to become healthier, resulting in its members becoming more resilient and stable.

In short, families can be a real hornet's nest, with sore spots that can hold real and unbearable pain when touched, they can be dark places which fester, and can generate hostility and danger if those specific sore spots are raised. Unfortunately the pain must be faced in order to move on and change the script for the future. Samuels gives us the case studies of 8 families she was involved with during the pandemic, primarily through zoom, each distinct in their own right, and aiming to confront the different problems and challenges they want to address. I became completely immersed in the individuals and their families, their stories make for riveting and compulsive reading, covering issues such as biological parents, adoption, loss, suicide, empty nests, leaving home, and class and wealth provide no immunity when it comes to family dysfunctions.

Samuel anonymises her clients, providing composites of individuals, and she is very human in acknowledging when she is taking on issues and people with whom she has limited, if any, experience and she is upfront about not always knowing what the way forward might be. She highlights that the most damaged families have rigid and fixed notions of right and wrong, where communications are closed down, leaving family members feeling distressed, abandoned and trapped, such families are the least likely to seek external help and advice. Samuels provides clarity and insight into the state of the many forms of family that exist in our contemporary society, giving us some of the latest academic research, and offers invaluable advice in creating healthier family dynamics with her 12 touchstones for families. An eye opening read that has made me a fan of family therapy, this is a book that I cannot recommend highly enough. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

In Every Family Has a Story leading psychotherapist Julia Samuel shares the beautiful and insightful stories of eight families who she has personally worked with. Collectively these stories widen our eyes to the vast range of adversities families go through and show how these issues can make or break families.

Aside from the eight stories shared, Julia also draws upon academic research and shares her twelve touchstones for family rituals which provide us with tools to improve our relationships within our own families.

Despite the trauma and hardships which the families in this book courageously share with us all, this is also a book of hope.

As a huge fan of Julia and the incredible work she does, I was honoured to receive an ARC of Every Family Has a Story and have to say it truly did not disappoint my expectations.

I was absolutely captivated by the eight families in the book. Their stories were shared sensitively but really showed the complexities which families face, covering issues such as grief, suicide, addiction, and blended families to name a few.

So often (particularly when you are young) you think everyone has a perfect family. This book reinforces that no one does (or perhaps I am yet to meet someone who does), however what is important is how we work at our family relationships, how we hold time and space for others and the importance of forgiveness whilst also protecting our own individual best interests.

Overall. A strong 5 stars. This book opened my mind and taught me a lot. The only negative is I was gutted it had to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Penguin General UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Every Family Has a Story will be published on 17th March 2022.

Told in real life examples of a therapist's sessions with families this book explores the complexities of multigenerational and blended family dynamics through issues such as grief, addiction, death, discovering a parent isn't your biological parent etc.
The case studies were very interesting to read and the authors interpretation of the sessions enlightening. Theres a good section at the end that studies what are the key points of healthy family relationships and understanding which was informative.

Having read Julia Samuel's previous book about grief I had high hopes for this book and was not disappointed. She has a remarkable gift of getting to the nub of issues and being able to communicate to the persons involved how best to move forward to improve their mental health and happiness. Doing this for multiple family members simultaneously and also writing it all down in a clear and helpful book within months of meeting the families is extremely impressive. Her introduction where she explains about the advantages of these family group sessions having to go online due to the covid pandemic is fascinating.

Julia recounts the experience of eight families with issues in this book. Their details have been changed enough to anonymise the families and the eight experiences can be read in any order. I recommend this book to any reader who has a less than perfect family. I can relate to experiences in many of the different stories and just wish my extended family could all meet up with Julia Samuels on a Zoom call to benefit from her experience and wisdom. An easy five stars.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review..

Julia Samuel has the ability to capture the attention of a wide range of readers in her writing about difficult and complex subjects, including readers beyond the profession of psychotherapy. This book is no exception in unpicking the theme of communication in families (“the relationship we can never leave").

The author explores in eight case studies how we communicate within families and how the way we have learned to communicate is inherited and influenced by past generations, for example the impact of trauma experienced by our grandparents. She explores with an expert, compassionate approach the dynamics of communication in families including step-relationships; sibling relationships; the sometime challenges of same-sex parenting; when substance misuse impacts on communication; whilst gently revealing the importance of using conflict constructively and the important roles of humour and love and forgiveness.

As in her previous books, Samuel provides the reader with insights and tools that can be implemented in this context to communicate in a healthier way in our own families.

Throughout the book, the author reveals personal observations balanced by the professional guidance she receives from her supervisor - reflections that inform lay readers, and add to the knowledge of professional practitioners. Every Family Has A Story is a book for re-reading that should be in every family home, and on every professional practitioner's bookshelf.