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The James Women Trilogy #1
Therapy For Ghosts
Some memories will find you no matter where you hide...
Cindy James is a cognitive behavioral therapist in a quiet Missouri town, but her precisely patterned life spins into chaos when she is besieged by panic attacks. Forced to undergo counseling with a new, peculiar therapist in town, Tony Prost, Cindy defiantly resists both his unnerving charm and the truth behind the haunting images that are unleashing her anxiety.
As Cindy’s memory flashes increase in frequency, she is jolted by the terrible deed her beloved mother committed to gain their freedom from her father. That memory is one clue to the mystery behind her compulsive behaviors: carrying a headless Raggedy Ann doll throughout the five-story mansion in which she lives alone, spot cleaning the mansion’s thirty-one rooms, and crying herself to sleep in an empty red room. Cindy slowly recalls her grandmother’s dominating, divisive presence and a violent history shrouded by years of silence, binding three generations. She soon realizes that the key to her future is buried in her past, but finding the truth means embarking on a harrowing journey back into the heart of her darkest fears.
Cindy James is a cognitive behavioral therapist in a quiet Missouri town, but her precisely patterned life spins into chaos when she is besieged by panic attacks. Forced to undergo counseling with a new, peculiar therapist in town, Tony Prost, Cindy defiantly resists both his unnerving charm and the truth behind the haunting images that are unleashing her anxiety.
As Cindy’s memory flashes increase in frequency, she is jolted by the terrible deed her beloved mother committed to gain their freedom from her father. That memory is one clue to the mystery behind her compulsive behaviors: carrying a headless Raggedy Ann doll throughout the five-story mansion in which she lives alone, spot cleaning the mansion’s thirty-one rooms, and crying herself to sleep in an empty red room. Cindy slowly recalls her grandmother’s dominating, divisive presence and a violent history shrouded by years of silence, binding three generations. She soon realizes that the key to her future is buried in her past, but finding the truth means embarking on a harrowing journey back into the heart of her darkest fears.
- GenresSuspense
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2012
11 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Eric Praschan
15 books15 followersEric Praschan lives in Springfield, MO, with his wife. He loves writing and reading. He has a background in drama, music, teaching, and theology. He enjoys college football, March Madness, Marvel movies and monster movies, hard rock music, and spending time with family and friends at cookouts and game nights.
His fiction writing is suspense in nature and often involves psychological thriller elements. His nonfiction writing is focused on theological themes involving the intersection of faith and daily living.
For more information, please check out his website at www.ericpraschan.com.
His fiction writing is suspense in nature and often involves psychological thriller elements. His nonfiction writing is focused on theological themes involving the intersection of faith and daily living.
For more information, please check out his website at www.ericpraschan.com.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 9, 2012
Eric Praschan’s book comes with an amusing premise, charting the meltdown of Cindy James, a cognitive behavioral therapist, who is in critical need of…cognitive behavioral therapy. The story quickly turns serious, as Praschan explores her tortured psyche, leading us to the unimaginable trauma that keeps her imprisoned, like a ghost, in a house already haunted by her childhood tormentors. Judging from the crackling dialogue between Cindy and Tony, the therapist who loves and helps her, Praschan is well versed in the challenges of the doctor-patient duet. This is a fine and well-written psychological thriller. And I am partial to any male author who seeks – and succeeds – to draw a full- dimensioned woman narrator.
July 18, 2014
So much awesome. I loved this book, I loved the therapy aspect, the pure horror of the story line, like Oprah pick meets Flowers in the Attic with a side of HOME. Will read more by this author.
September 7, 2018
Honestly I wasn’t sure how good this book would be but I was pleasantly surprised! It’s beautifully written. I only took away a star because I do feel like it was a bit wordy or too flowery at times. I appreciate the writing but found myself skimming sometimes thinking get to the point. The suspense factor of the book is great you are never really sure what is happening or what it going to happen. I still can’t decide if her memories were talking to her or she’s legit schizo but it was overall pertinent so I let the detail slide. Excited to continue the trilogy to see where the story goes.
October 31, 2017
Ghosts review
Liked the book but found main character insight hard to follow. Hard concept to write about but could have progressed more only into her thinking.
Liked the book but found main character insight hard to follow. Hard concept to write about but could have progressed more only into her thinking.
January 14, 2014
Wow, this book is amazing. At first, for the first ten pages or so, with the heavy description of the main character's life and gloomy, oversized old house, I had a sinking feeling that the book would be trite and cliche-ridden. Then the main character, Cindy, reluctantly seeks therapy with another therapist (she is a therapist as well) in order to minimally comply with an order from her employer's human resources department to seek professional help so she could return to work.
Then, the exchange between the therapist (named Tony) really set the book afire, with his unconventional ways of challenging her and I really enjoyed the banter as she applies perfect logic to push him aside as a factor in her life, but can't help herself as she seeks solace in his desire to seek the truth within her. No, this is not one of these sappy romances where they swoon over each other. It seems more like they are acting as friends of conviction. He, for some reason, finds her fascinating. I think perhaps he wants to primarily set himself up for the challenge of breaking through such a difficult wall of emotions, guilt, and repressed memories, to play the role of detective and healer. She, in turn, knows she needs to heal and to come to terms with her difficult upbringing.
Yes, I read the reviews after I read the book, which state that such therapy is unethical. Yes, that's correct, but the fact is I never thought of it once while reading, as I'm not a therapist. As stated, I didn't really see they were romantically interested into each other until the very end. I more saw that he was so determined for her to overcome her own barriers. Yes, her friends teased her about a possible relationship with a therapist, but Cindy was so adamant against it, so again I didn't really see the romance part of it. I was more rooting for the detective story, and indeed, layer after layer of memories were peeled off. In a way, it's like a horror story, only that the horror is in the investigation itself, not in any acts of man. I don't like horror, but this was written as a piece of suspense, so I didn't really feel uncomfortable with this book.
Yes, such behaviour is unethical, but what a story! It can easily be fixed by having neither of them therapists. Just read the book again, and imagine that Tony is an insurance salesman who has been called in by a disinterested Cindy to investigate a claim on damage to part of the house, and imagine that Cindy is a lawyer who chose the logic of law in order to escape her own feelings. Imagine that Tony has checked out the house, and submitted her claim for processing, and then it's over, so no conflict of interest in their developing relationship. Tony then claims, with exaggerated bravado, to be "psychic" and "an amazing judge of character" who likes nothing better than "reading people" as an armchair amateur. Then he slowly falls in love with her. Then, read it again, imagining it from that viewpoint, and you'd agree this is a finely paced and written work.
Very well done!
Didn't like the title, though, after reading this book. There are no "ghosts" in this book. Also, if we take out the "therapy" part from the plot, then a new sparkling title would be great and capture its essence!
Then, the exchange between the therapist (named Tony) really set the book afire, with his unconventional ways of challenging her and I really enjoyed the banter as she applies perfect logic to push him aside as a factor in her life, but can't help herself as she seeks solace in his desire to seek the truth within her. No, this is not one of these sappy romances where they swoon over each other. It seems more like they are acting as friends of conviction. He, for some reason, finds her fascinating. I think perhaps he wants to primarily set himself up for the challenge of breaking through such a difficult wall of emotions, guilt, and repressed memories, to play the role of detective and healer. She, in turn, knows she needs to heal and to come to terms with her difficult upbringing.
Yes, I read the reviews after I read the book, which state that such therapy is unethical. Yes, that's correct, but the fact is I never thought of it once while reading, as I'm not a therapist. As stated, I didn't really see they were romantically interested into each other until the very end. I more saw that he was so determined for her to overcome her own barriers. Yes, her friends teased her about a possible relationship with a therapist, but Cindy was so adamant against it, so again I didn't really see the romance part of it. I was more rooting for the detective story, and indeed, layer after layer of memories were peeled off. In a way, it's like a horror story, only that the horror is in the investigation itself, not in any acts of man. I don't like horror, but this was written as a piece of suspense, so I didn't really feel uncomfortable with this book.
Yes, such behaviour is unethical, but what a story! It can easily be fixed by having neither of them therapists. Just read the book again, and imagine that Tony is an insurance salesman who has been called in by a disinterested Cindy to investigate a claim on damage to part of the house, and imagine that Cindy is a lawyer who chose the logic of law in order to escape her own feelings. Imagine that Tony has checked out the house, and submitted her claim for processing, and then it's over, so no conflict of interest in their developing relationship. Tony then claims, with exaggerated bravado, to be "psychic" and "an amazing judge of character" who likes nothing better than "reading people" as an armchair amateur. Then he slowly falls in love with her. Then, read it again, imagining it from that viewpoint, and you'd agree this is a finely paced and written work.
Very well done!
Didn't like the title, though, after reading this book. There are no "ghosts" in this book. Also, if we take out the "therapy" part from the plot, then a new sparkling title would be great and capture its essence!
November 14, 2013
3 1/2 Stars
Therapy for Ghosts broaches a difficult and relevant issue that many people suffer from and even more don't understand. It is a brave endeavor by the author and the book title is clever and an appropriate name for the book.
Cindy James, a cognitive behavioral therapist herself, finds she's losing control and needs the help of a colleague. Here, the cause of her mental deterioration is buried deep and is causing her to have physical manifestations becoming paralyzed and losing consciousness when memories creep into her consciousness. The author does an excellent job on the scenes showing Cindy experiencing the episodes caused by her anxieties. They are very well-written, are believable and the reader can visualize and feel for Cindy as she experiences them.
Two things made this book a miss for me. First, it didn't flow due to the descriptive language used. The author often misused words that brought the reading, for me, to a halt such as, "sleepless air," (does air sleep?); "insisted adamantly" (they mean the same thing); or "bit my lip tentatively" (either you bite it or you don't), just to quote a few. And then there were sentences like, "I observe the confusion lolling lazily across her expression."
The second is its lack of plausibility. It started with the diagnosis and treatment assessment after one of Cindy's episodes. The ER doctor took a few tests, found them negative (negative for what I'm not sure) and while she was still nearly unconscious gave Cindy's instructions to go home and to specifically see a "cognitive behavioral therapist," not a neurologists or even psychiatrist, the therapist ultimately offers her no therapy (just jokes) as she remembers everything on her own, usually when he's out of the room. And then there are Cindy's girlfriends that were more worried about whether the new therapist was cute, as if he were a blind date, than how she was feeling, a thirty-one room house where candles are capable of burning all night, and where someone can enter the large house for the first time and know immediately which room to go to. But what was hard for me is that the memory loss that Cindy suffered from only occurred after she was strong enough to break away, live somewhere else for seven years, get two degrees, all while working a full-time job and is seemingly fine the whole time. It wasn't until returning home to a dying mother, at the age of twenty-five, no less, that she suddenly doesn't remember anything about her past. Her entire past. A past that didn't seem very traumatic making the story anti-climatic. Cindy’s past consisted of unwarranted fears of a grandmother who treated her nice, gave her a home, and bought her gifts, and a mother that was nice to her but suffered from depression. The reader is also told of two other events by the grandmother similar to one Cindy witnessed between her mother and father, but since she didn't see it, it probably wouldn't have affected her with the severity the book tells.
All in all, the concept of the book was interesting and intriguing. The need to know of why Cindy suffered so kept the reader guessing and pulled you through the story.
Therapy for Ghosts broaches a difficult and relevant issue that many people suffer from and even more don't understand. It is a brave endeavor by the author and the book title is clever and an appropriate name for the book.
Cindy James, a cognitive behavioral therapist herself, finds she's losing control and needs the help of a colleague. Here, the cause of her mental deterioration is buried deep and is causing her to have physical manifestations becoming paralyzed and losing consciousness when memories creep into her consciousness. The author does an excellent job on the scenes showing Cindy experiencing the episodes caused by her anxieties. They are very well-written, are believable and the reader can visualize and feel for Cindy as she experiences them.
Two things made this book a miss for me. First, it didn't flow due to the descriptive language used. The author often misused words that brought the reading, for me, to a halt such as, "sleepless air," (does air sleep?); "insisted adamantly" (they mean the same thing); or "bit my lip tentatively" (either you bite it or you don't), just to quote a few. And then there were sentences like, "I observe the confusion lolling lazily across her expression."
The second is its lack of plausibility. It started with the diagnosis and treatment assessment after one of Cindy's episodes. The ER doctor took a few tests, found them negative (negative for what I'm not sure) and while she was still nearly unconscious gave Cindy's instructions to go home and to specifically see a "cognitive behavioral therapist," not a neurologists or even psychiatrist, the therapist ultimately offers her no therapy (just jokes) as she remembers everything on her own, usually when he's out of the room. And then there are Cindy's girlfriends that were more worried about whether the new therapist was cute, as if he were a blind date, than how she was feeling, a thirty-one room house where candles are capable of burning all night, and where someone can enter the large house for the first time and know immediately which room to go to. But what was hard for me is that the memory loss that Cindy suffered from only occurred after she was strong enough to break away, live somewhere else for seven years, get two degrees, all while working a full-time job and is seemingly fine the whole time. It wasn't until returning home to a dying mother, at the age of twenty-five, no less, that she suddenly doesn't remember anything about her past. Her entire past. A past that didn't seem very traumatic making the story anti-climatic. Cindy’s past consisted of unwarranted fears of a grandmother who treated her nice, gave her a home, and bought her gifts, and a mother that was nice to her but suffered from depression. The reader is also told of two other events by the grandmother similar to one Cindy witnessed between her mother and father, but since she didn't see it, it probably wouldn't have affected her with the severity the book tells.
All in all, the concept of the book was interesting and intriguing. The need to know of why Cindy suffered so kept the reader guessing and pulled you through the story.
October 21, 2013
“Therapy for Ghosts” is a multilayered journey into the damaged psyche of Cindy James, who struggles to overcome the trauma of horrific childhood experiences. The success of Cindy’s efforts will determine the fate of her future relationships and perhaps even her existence.
Because of its highly psychological elements, the novel in many ways serves as a kind of Rorschach test, imparting a different meaning to each reader, based on the personal experiences the reader brings to the book. This could lead to widely different perspectives on this novel, depending on the life experiences one brings to the table.
TFG is narrated in first person, which enhances the highly personal feel of the book. Every reader who has experienced some form of sadness (and who hasn’t?) will connect with Cindy’s pain as she seeks to excise the demons of her past. Often, the prose is simple yet striking: “He seems to be traveling away to a pain living somewhere I cannot follow.” There are many, many other phrases which made me stop and savor the moment, or, as William Makepeace Thackeray said of “David Copperfield”: “There are little words and phrases in his books which are like personal benefits to the reader.” It’s clear a lot of thought went into crafting the proper emotional context of TFG, and the reader is the beneficiary of this effort.
I rate TFG a strong four stars. Why not five? First, I very rarely give five stars, as I reserve that rating for the absolute top tier books I’ve ever read. Second, a minor failing in TFG (for me, at least) was that while the primary conflict of the story kept the reader turning pages to discover what would happen next, this conflict ultimately resolved in a less-significant-than-expected payoff. Other readers may be perfectly satisfied with the ending, but I had expected a bit more of a startling revelation at the end. Nonetheless, I enjoyed TFG and recommend it without reservation, especially if you enjoy a story that explores the impact of the past on our futures.
Because of its highly psychological elements, the novel in many ways serves as a kind of Rorschach test, imparting a different meaning to each reader, based on the personal experiences the reader brings to the book. This could lead to widely different perspectives on this novel, depending on the life experiences one brings to the table.
TFG is narrated in first person, which enhances the highly personal feel of the book. Every reader who has experienced some form of sadness (and who hasn’t?) will connect with Cindy’s pain as she seeks to excise the demons of her past. Often, the prose is simple yet striking: “He seems to be traveling away to a pain living somewhere I cannot follow.” There are many, many other phrases which made me stop and savor the moment, or, as William Makepeace Thackeray said of “David Copperfield”: “There are little words and phrases in his books which are like personal benefits to the reader.” It’s clear a lot of thought went into crafting the proper emotional context of TFG, and the reader is the beneficiary of this effort.
I rate TFG a strong four stars. Why not five? First, I very rarely give five stars, as I reserve that rating for the absolute top tier books I’ve ever read. Second, a minor failing in TFG (for me, at least) was that while the primary conflict of the story kept the reader turning pages to discover what would happen next, this conflict ultimately resolved in a less-significant-than-expected payoff. Other readers may be perfectly satisfied with the ending, but I had expected a bit more of a startling revelation at the end. Nonetheless, I enjoyed TFG and recommend it without reservation, especially if you enjoy a story that explores the impact of the past on our futures.
January 1, 2015
An introspective tale about Cindy, a female therapist in a slow moving southern town who lives alone and is haunted by the ghosts of her past. She begins visiting a therapist which fills the book with some delightful scenes of one therapist interviewing another who already knows all the tricks and tropes. Some enjoyable mental sparring goes on which is all the more entertaining as the two seem to be attracted to each other. I read a few of the other reviews that said they didn’t like the therapists’ behavior. Since I have never visited one, none of that bothered me or felt out of place. Of course I read a lot of scifi too, so I have no problem suspending belief, but that didn’t even come to mind with this book. Everything looked okay to me.
The book is full of introspection and is told in the first person so we are in Cindy’s head the entire time. Although she is a therapist, she is somewhat neurotic, but since she is a therapist she, of course, knows this so she spends a lot of time trying to hide things about herself and appear “normal”. As the book goes on the threads fray more and more and the slow motion train wreck of her life unravels before our eyes.
One thing that pulled me out of the flow was that the main character often talks to her dead mother in her head or other times herself and that dialog is not set apart in italics as it normally would be in other books I have read. Another thing is that the author sometimes overuses pronouns to the point that I was not sure who was doing, saying or thinking what-again this typically only happened in Cindy’s internal dialog. The editing was okay but maybe needed some work (Why does everyone “smile knowingly”?)
A worthy download if you are into introspective suspense. I give it a fully deserved 4 stars.
The book is full of introspection and is told in the first person so we are in Cindy’s head the entire time. Although she is a therapist, she is somewhat neurotic, but since she is a therapist she, of course, knows this so she spends a lot of time trying to hide things about herself and appear “normal”. As the book goes on the threads fray more and more and the slow motion train wreck of her life unravels before our eyes.
One thing that pulled me out of the flow was that the main character often talks to her dead mother in her head or other times herself and that dialog is not set apart in italics as it normally would be in other books I have read. Another thing is that the author sometimes overuses pronouns to the point that I was not sure who was doing, saying or thinking what-again this typically only happened in Cindy’s internal dialog. The editing was okay but maybe needed some work (Why does everyone “smile knowingly”?)
A worthy download if you are into introspective suspense. I give it a fully deserved 4 stars.
January 27, 2015
Cindy James is a Cognitive Behavior Therapist in Sleepy Oak, Missouri. She starts a memory from her past, memories that have long been suppressed, and faints in her office. She is then taken to a hospital, where tests are done for physical problems. There are no physical ailments and Dr. Shipper, a neurologist, tells she can not go back to work until she sees another CBT for at least an hour session.
She goes to the appointment with the only other CBT in town, Dr. Anthony Prost. She is immediately turned off by his office, his demeanor and only stays for half of the session, without really giving anything up about herself.
She goes home to her five-story home. She climbs into bed on the fifth floor and locks the two deadbolts like normal. She starts to have more memories and realizes that the perfection she thought she was attaining in her life is not there.
She goes back to Tony Prost for the next half hour to complete the obligation and be able to go back to work. Tony starts her on her process of remembering the terrors of her childhood and they decide to become friends.
Cindy then decides that she needs to remember why she feels such failure with herself and her life. What in her past has made her feel incomplete and so inferior. Tony slowly helps her process those memories and they are not pleasant.
The vocabulary in this novel is very rich. Eric Praschan has a wonderful way with language. You are extremely drawn to finding out about Cindy's long suppressed memories of her childhood.
She goes to the appointment with the only other CBT in town, Dr. Anthony Prost. She is immediately turned off by his office, his demeanor and only stays for half of the session, without really giving anything up about herself.
She goes home to her five-story home. She climbs into bed on the fifth floor and locks the two deadbolts like normal. She starts to have more memories and realizes that the perfection she thought she was attaining in her life is not there.
She goes back to Tony Prost for the next half hour to complete the obligation and be able to go back to work. Tony starts her on her process of remembering the terrors of her childhood and they decide to become friends.
Cindy then decides that she needs to remember why she feels such failure with herself and her life. What in her past has made her feel incomplete and so inferior. Tony slowly helps her process those memories and they are not pleasant.
The vocabulary in this novel is very rich. Eric Praschan has a wonderful way with language. You are extremely drawn to finding out about Cindy's long suppressed memories of her childhood.
February 13, 2014
Physical symptoms can sometimes be a reflection of a psychological disturbance, so what if your whole body started to shut down when you tried to remember the past?
Cindy James is a therapist but when she has multiple physical shutdowns, she has to find her own special brand of therapy. As she uncovers the past of the house she lives in and the violence that haunted her mother and grandmother, Cindy must face her own fears or be dragged under.
Told from Cindy's perspective, we see how she interacts with her friends, a new lover who helps her on the road to recovery, and also her own thoughts in a diary to her mother. As someone fascinated with psychology, I found this an interesting, thought-provoking read.
Cindy James is a therapist but when she has multiple physical shutdowns, she has to find her own special brand of therapy. As she uncovers the past of the house she lives in and the violence that haunted her mother and grandmother, Cindy must face her own fears or be dragged under.
Told from Cindy's perspective, we see how she interacts with her friends, a new lover who helps her on the road to recovery, and also her own thoughts in a diary to her mother. As someone fascinated with psychology, I found this an interesting, thought-provoking read.
December 19, 2013
THERAPY FOR GHOSTS is a very captivating beginning to the series. The author tells the story of a woman who is haunted by her past, except that her past lies in repressed memories. The story details her struggle to come to terms with it. The novel is cleverly told, and the story certainly captures the reader's interest from the beginning.
October 23, 2014
Cindy James has a rather fascinating back story. The book is all about her coming to terms with he past, in reflection. It was engaging and engrossing, when reliving those memories. The story between Cindy and Tony left me wanting though. I feel the story could have been told just as well without it being hidden within another story.
September 6, 2013
A gripping first novel! The characters are so accessible and real. It's clear that there is real experience guiding the author, and that makes the story even more affecting. If you're like me, you'll finish this and immediately want to start the second one!
August 29, 2013
The start of this novel threw me off - it took me a little while to realize that the main voice was that of a woman. But, after a few chapters the story gripped me and I could not put this book down. Very much looking forward to more from Eric Praschan.
February 3, 2013
Picked this up, free, on ebook Buffet App. It turned out to be a good book. I liked the characters and the setting... Talk about skeletons in the closet!
August 6, 2013
Decent. Very predictable. More a romantic story than anything supernatural. Not what I expected.
September 5, 2013
Most bizarre book I have read dealing with cognitive therapists and uncovering suppressed memories. Not for every one.
October 1, 2013
Therapy for Ghosts is an intriguing read that forced me to keep turning the pages to read of Cindy's fate.
July 4, 2014
A very intimate read. The psychology was compelling, and I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews