A SENSITIVE STORY OF IDENTITY THE ROOTS WE HAVE AND THE ROUTES THAT OPEN UP BECAUSE OF THIS There s Femi who understands how intolerance shapes the present but lets his anger limit his relationships Bluey who fights misogyny in unhelpful ways and Segun who seems capable but succumbs to despair in the face of gender based violence and child abuse THE TRUE TERROR LIES NOT IN THE JOURNEY It s a beautiful tale that brings social justice into conflict with real life justice and asks which should prevail BUT THE FINAL DESTINATION THEY ALL UNKNOWINGLY APPROACH Is falling in love enough is that the best therapy Will rescue fantasies primordial rage and cocktail mixes drown out the pain OUTCOME Sink or swim whoever stops breathing starts living Set in Brisbane Australia the story follows Femi a Yoruba born immigrant still navigating the complexities of his new homeland When a politician ignites a public debate on migration Femi becomes deeply affected by the criticism leading him to interpret every perceived slight as a personal attack Struggling to find his place in this unfamiliar territory he seeks the guidance of Dr Segun Agoro a renowned psychiatrist With his polished demeanour and unconventional taste in art the enigmatic psychiatrist challenges Femi to observe without judgment As Femi delves into his African roots unearthing buried memories and confronting past traumas he unravels the complexities of his own identity Simultaneously Dr Agoro harbours his hidden struggles yet expertly conceals them beneath a fa ade of sophistication This novel weaves two journeys Femi s fight for acceptance and Dr Agoro s descent into darkness Expect vibrant prose cultural insight and psychological fiction delving into the depths of the human psyche Real Men Don t Do Therapy A Portrait of A Beautiful DisasterAn engaging and compelling read Real men don t do therapy is a deep dive into the personal and professional life of a Yoruba Psychiatrist as he struggles with issues of race and prejudice in Australian society as well as the deeper parts of his psyche A must read whether you are a shrink or not Wole Akosile Real Men Don t Do Therapy is a love story that explores systemic racism identity and choice through the eyes of different characters There s Femi who understands how racism shapes the present but lets his anger limit his relationships Bluey who fights misogyny in unhelpful ways and Segun who emphasises an ability to respond but succumbs to despair in the face of gender based violence and child abuse The book explores not only the inequalities and power imbalances that exist but also how each person can choose to respond It looks at how cruelty and intimacy intertwine and the choices that emerge each step of the way Each character adds a new insight into how injustice plays out and each creates a valued insight into how we might live in the world the stories we tell each other and the places in which we allow insights to emerge This is a beautiful sensitive and thoughtful look about what it means to be an immigrant the roots we have and the routes we might explore or which may be limited because of this The language is skillfully used to shape an intriguing story with the lives and loves of each character experienced in full It s a beautiful tale that brings social justice into conflict with real life justice and asks which should prevail The idea of racism and xenophobia brought into discussion with western and very individualistic psychology intrigued me and I was interested in the debate between these two often conflicting ways of looking at the world Instead this was a discussion about the deeper and wider perspectives that shape our lives and how politics might help or hinder our happiness This sensitive book is an excellent read opening up debate and deeper exploration of power relationships while telling a story of hope healing and the nuances that exist within powerful political perspectives I would recommend this book to any reader hoping to understand culture injustice and how we choose to respond I would also recommend it to anyone looking for an amazing story It s definitely one of my favourites Wole Akosile A story so captivating echoing the all too familiar narratives of many black Africans in Australia The burden of blackness and of navigating through the realities of everyday living in the diaspora The characters in the past and present forever intertwined in this common human experience This book raised the realities of racism and racial trauma its impact on our mental health and wellbeing as I like many others from culturally diverse backgrounds have also encountered and this served to make this book even authentic and relatable on a deeply personal level It also confirmed how critical it is to have a culturally diverse workforce where culturally balanced therapeutic environments can be the norm The book also raises the question Is it the traumas of our past that hypersensitizes the experience of our present Or is it the realities of our present experiences that simply awaken the monsters of our past In a sense it looks like the we heal the we seem to open ourselves up to hurtbut perhaps it is about being faithfully cognizant of the realities of life as we experience it unpredictable fascinating challenging exhilarating truly beautiful disasters This hugely captivating book is at times raw and confronting and yet all the while being strangely cathartic as well. What a read I could not put it down Highly recommended Wole Akosile

Real Men Don’t Do Therapy: A Portrait of A Beautiful Disaster By Wole Akosile

0648623610

9780648623618

English

305

Kindle Edition

Wole Akosile is an addiction psychiatrist and physician Based in vibrant Brisbane Australia Get ready to be captivated as he artfully crafts stories that not only entertain but also challenge and inspire connecting us all through the shared threads of our human experience..