Letters To My Sister's Shrink

by Heather Balog

Shannon Clayton is 35 year old woman with a troubled past. When she tries to kill herself on her wedding day, her fiance commits her to a mental hospital. Her psychiatrist is the best in her field, but Shannon will not speak to her. She will only communicate through letters. The doctor needs a new perspective on Shannon's tormented soul, so she calls on Kathryn. Kathryn is Shannon's twin sister who wants nothing to do with her. But she can't turn her back on her sister because she is drawn to the letters Shannon has written for some inexplicable reason. She is drawn to her sister's misery no matter how hard she fights it. why can't she turn away? What is it about Shannon that makes it impossible for Kathryn to ignore? It's a secret they share that only the letters will reveal."

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Mental Health

250 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2014

About the author

Heather Balog is a self proclaimed "Bad Mommy" and the author of fourteen novels, including the Amy Maxwell Cozy Mystery Series. She also collaborates with her "Tween-age" daughter on the Lexie Maxwell Series for young readers. She blogs at "The Bad Mommy Diaries" which, according to her family, is mostly obnoxious exaggeration, but it's much cheaper than therapy. When Heather is not writing or complaining on her blog, she's a school nurse, taxi driver, her household Sudoku champion, and a runner with way too many aches and pains to be any good. She lives with her husband and her two children who all make fun of her inability to exist without the help of a Post-It note list on a daily basis. She also has two very needy dogs who do not make fun of her, but take turns emptying the garbage in the kitchen just to get her blood pressure boiling. Visit her website at http://www.heatherbalog.com or her blogs at : http://www.thebadmommydiaries.com or http://badmommyreads.com.

Reviews

[Books, Chocolate and Wine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so gripping I read it all in one sitting. It is dark, twisted and at times disturbing while delving into some very difficult issues. It is well written with the story being told in two parts, the past through Shannon’s letters and the present through her sister Kathryn’s conversations with the shrink, this is a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the climatic ending.

[Tina Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! I couldn't put it down. This book has so many twists and turns that you have to keep reading to find out what happens next.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not want to put it down. I will be looking for more books by this author.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick and easy read, interesting enough to keep your attention. There were a lot of typos and errors that were distracting. Also, the "big twist" was fairly evident early on in the story. It felt a bit rushed and frantic, there is no finesse.

[Sandi Fiolka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read! There are times you don't want to put this book down, and other times you should!

This book should come with a warning, that it might be disturbing to those who may have had similar experiences.

I can't in good conscience recommend this to others to read

[Danielle Silva mizak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little weird for me- but very interesting many nights a couldn't put it down!

[Brenda Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good read. Shannon Clayton is a psychiatric out patient having tried to commit suicide on her wedding day. Shannon will not speak to her psychiatrist (Dr Wallace) instead she writes her letters. Dr Wallace enlists the help from Shannon’s twin Katie, to provide some back story and enlighten her (Dr Wallace) about some of the events covered in the letters.
I did workout the twist in the story but once I had worked out what was happening, I wanted to know why.
Letters to my Sister’s Shrink is a short book (246 pages) but it is well worth a read.

[Jennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book OK enough to like. It is different than what I normally read, had an interesting premise, and was short. All pluses.

The entire book I felt pity for our twin that would only communicate through letters. Literally the entire book. It was fairly emotionally exhausting pitying something for that long. Now though, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because it's over. Whew.

The story should come with trigger warnings. I don't have issues, per say, with the content but I'm assuming people who were molested should be warned before starting this book. As you read you keep thinking that something like that must have happened, but it's hard to put your finger exactly on what makes you think that.

Basically this entire book is summed up in the summary listed here on Goodreads. I kept waiting for more to happen, but it didn't. The big twist is something that will probably cross your mind 5 times in the book, so when it happens, you're like "meh".

All in all I did like it. But I only liked it a little, not a lot.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gripping story of a psychologist trying to understand a patient who tried to commit suicide on her wedding day, and who will only communicate with her through letters. In order to get another perspective on the events in the letters, she asks to interview the patient´s twin sister. There are a couple of major twists along the way, the most important of which I unfortunately figured out pretty early on in the story, bringing down my rating to 3 stars. Nonetheless, it definitely kept my interest. If you like psychological thrillers, you might give this a try.

[Marva Tutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a most interesting read

As you read through the novel, you just think about how. Any people this happens to on a regular cycle. The character developed herself excellently through the use of letters to her psychiatrist. I hope we can find a cure for mental illness just like we fight for cures for other illnesses.

[Scott Calhoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book!

Oh my Goodness! What a surprising ending this book contained. I could not put the book down & read straight through. So different from my usual reads & enjoyed very much.

[Irene Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Flows well. However in the very beginning I kind of suspected the end... and I was right -- I won't say anything more so as not to spoil the book for another person.. but it definitely held my interest... I would recommend it.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was disturbing in two ways. The story itself was a disturbing subject. I figured it out about halfway through. The most disturbing part though was that this book had no editing! I almost couldn't finish reading because of all the mistakes.

[Dorilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can letters reveal the truth?

An interesting read with a twist. I liked how the author used letters to explain the past and unveil the reality.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the way this book was written and how the story unfolded. I figured out what was really going on pretty quickly, but it still didnt ruin the ending of the book.

[Tracey Sych · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Page turner well written I really enjoyed it
I plan to find this authors other books for sure
Clever mind

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this book, it loses a star as, unfortunately, there were a few errors within the writing which I found rather irritating as it prevents the natural flow of the read. The story itself was enjoyable, it took a short while to get used to the format, but the different than average writing style made a nice change. The Kindle version was annoying as on some pages it reverted to double line spacing, however, this I believe is likely a technical error on Kindle's part.

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around three characters; Shannon, Katie/Kathryn and the "Shrink". The Shrink is trying to help Shannon by speaking to Kathryn regarding their childhood, although reluctant at first, reading Shannon's letters brings back memories that she had long buried and she starts to see things from Shannon's perspective. The ending, for me at least, was unexpected and made me enjoy it all the more. It wasn't a particularly long read, but a good one nonetheless.

[David Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fascinating. Although a work of fiction, you can quite easily envisage this actually taking place in therapy sessions. The subject matter is gritty, realistic, and, at times, quite sickening, but this just adds to the authenticity of the story. There are few characters, but that isn't a bad thing as the focus lies around Katie, Shannon, the mother, the father and the therapist. The story gradually develops from glimpses of letters written to the therapist by Shannon, and the therapy sessions attended by her sister, Katie.

This is not a book that everybody will like due to the strong subject matter, and there are numerous issues with editing, which should really have been resolved.

All said, this was a good story, and is recommended for people who like gritty fiction with more realism to it.

[Manish Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book. Kathryn is attending sessions with psychiatrist as her twin sister Shannon is admitted to the hospital after a suicide bid. Shannon won't talk to the psychiatrist directly and only communicate to her through letters, which the psychiatrist discusses with Kathryn as that could help Shannon. Even though Kathryn hates Shannon, she goes along with the exercise and the letters reveal the reasons for Shannon's mental state. The discussions also involve hypnosis sessions.

Rest is not to be revealed as there are quite a few twists in the tale at the end. The revelation of the reasons for Shannon's problems felt quite predictable, but the emotional parts are handled quite effectively in the book.

[Florbert M · Rating 3 out of 5]

The imaginary twins

Interesting story from the beginning, it feels easy good read ... Then almost halfway to the end, this child molester dad character. Almost the air of "deja vu" cliche , it makes the story a cheap escape!
With this smart character of " katie -shannon" that we discover at the end, this book would have deserved better rating with a different twist than the cheap cliche...

[Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinarily talented way to write about domestic abuse

Wow! What an ending!
Less is more. The author writes about domestic and sexual abuse in an almost detached manner, yet the tension simmers and builds. The story is not graphic, I wasn’t moved to tears, but I was shocked.
I particularly enjoyed numerous references to inconsistent perceptions, the absence of absolute truth.
Brilliant writing. (There we’re a few typos, but they didn’t interrupt the flow.)

[Miss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one day. It's very engaging. My only issue is the use of hypnosis as it's been proven "memories" under hypnosis are unreliable and often completely false. I guessed the ending as hints are dropped throughout the story. The book also needs a better editor as there are spelling mistakes, extra/missing words.

[Gail McLaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review.

Wow! I didn't see that ending coming. I don t really know why I resisted reading this book but I'm glad I finally did! Great story. It was so very sad,it had me crying a few times.

[Rebecca Konik · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Sisters Shrink

Excellent. Story kept moving. Hard to put down, as it always kept you coming back for more. Thank you Heather Balog

[Anastasia Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great read :-)

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Badly written and obvious.

[Ciara Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

Definitely did not expect the ending. I thought it was well written. Easy to read. I liked the format but wish the characters were a little better developed.

[Maria Fortune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good plot twist, definitely didn’t see it coming!

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

That "surprise" ending was totally not a shocker.

[Margy Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katelyn and Shannon

Child abuse has a lifetime impact on the victims. This story is told with sensitivity and a depth of knowledge of this devastating impact