As a person who has dealt with chronic pain for decades, I was excited to see this audio book. After listening to it, I will do my best to say something nice about this book length ad for the Mayo Clinic's pain rehab program, written by two psychiatrists who work there.

First, the narrators, Leanne Woodward and Nano Nagle were a delight to listen to. I'm definitely interested in finding other books that either of them have narrated. I tend to listen to audio books at between 2x and 3x speed and I never had any trouble understanding the narration.

I'm disgusted that the authors chose to have hire narrators with British accents to read their book, taking advantage of the known tendency for Americans to believe anything said to them in that accent is smarter and more true.

Most of the first half of the book contains really simplified, dumbed-down definitions that occur around chronic pain treatment and how chronic and acute are different words. If you are new to dealing with chronic pain or are a parent or caregiver to someone who is now in chronic pain, these definitions are likely to be useful as place to launch your own research from. The Mayo pediatric pain rehab program, where patients are told pain is all in their head, is also pushed pretty hard as the solution to your teen's chronic pain problems.

The second half of the book mainly focuses on the psychiatry of pain management. Also, it's not a bad primer and place to start, especially if you are one of the lucky folks who are likely to be in chronic pain for that magic 3 month to 1 year duration. It does feel like a schedule for how inpatient psychiatric treatment at the Mayo Clinic pain rehab clinic works. Many of the techniques in the book are used across the board in chronic pain management, and can be used in many settings with success, not just at Mayo and not just with a psychiatrist. In my experience, you never need a psychiatrist for any of the techniques.

Would I pay money for this book? No, I already have the tools that are presented here and I was offended by the tone of the material (not the narrators! I loved the narrators). Would I recommend it to someone else? Also no, but more because I already know of the reputation (both good and bad) and problems that abound with both this particular pain rehab program and others like it.

Thank you Dreamscape Media, Mayo Clinic Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audio book prior to its release.

After having a lifetime of chronic pain due to multiple diagnoses, there wasn't anything new in here. A lot of the information is contraindicated for my specific illness. I can't do a lot of activity (and if one more person tells me to do yoga, I will throw my shoe at them). I get the basics. This was not for me.

Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief by Drs. Wesley P. Gilliam and Bruce Sutor is now my go-to for all things pain relief. The Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief masterfully lays out critical research in easily digestible tidbits which is very appreciated. Among other very valuable things, the project of this work highlights how pain is both universal and personal which is both relatable and compassionate. Well-researched and well-written, I am so happy I had the opportunity to read/listen to this book. Everyone should read this book if they want a fundamental understanding of pain and work toward minimizing or eliminating pain.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Many thanks to Dreamscape and the Mayo Clinic for this audio copy. Its an extremely useful audio to listen to if you suffer chronic pain and if you want to take less painkillers and try to find an alternative way of relieving your pain.