Customer Reviews

Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Rachel Reiland's deep, unflinching account of her psychotherapeutic journey from borderline personality disorder and anorexia to the wholeness that lay ahead is an absolute must-read for those with BPD and their loved ones.

While Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and other Cognitive Behavioral Therapy programs (generally touted as the most effective means of treating BPD) approach BPD symptomatically, Reiland's first person observations of healing BPD from the inside out give amazing insight into the fundamental developmental rift that creates "borderline behavior" -- an unmistakable inner rift that those with BPD will resonate strongly with as they read Rachel's book.

As well written as it is honest, this book stands alone in the body of BPD literature in its earnest and encouraging presentation of recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder and the recovery process.

While most may not be able to afford the therapy that Rachel was privileged enough to undergo (three sessions per week with her psychiatrist for the first two years or so), the insights gained into the illness and the healing process will undoubtedly benefit those with BPD who are ready to recover.

**If you are under the care of a therapist, I would recommend asking or apprising your therapist before you begin reading, as some of the content may trigger emotional reactions.**

If you have a loved one suffering from BPD, this book will give you a glimpse of how deep BPD truly is, and how much hope there is if your loved one truly wants to be healed.

Visit www.bpdresourcecenter.org or www.bpdcentral.com for more information on Borderline Personality Disorder. Also recommended (and available here) are Linehan's Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder and Mason & Kreger's Stop Walking On Eggshells. For those with BPD and addiction issues, read The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders by Santoro and Cohen. For Christians, Behind the Masks: Personality Disorders in the Church by Pate & Pate.

Reading this book is like stepping into the family of a person with Borderline Personality Disorder. It is not always a pleasant place to visit, it can be very painful. I would assume that most people who would choose this book do so because of some personal connection to BPD. To watch Rachel and her family struggle through her illness and recovery can touch 'almost' too close to home. But, you find yourself hoping for them all.

Rachel is a storyteller, and this book is written in a beautiful and very readable style. The clinical information that is presented as part of the story is palatable because it is so well ingrained into the actual storyl.

Someday soon I am going to take the time to write a long letter to Rachel Reiland, and to Randi Kreger ("Stop Walking on Eggshells."} These two women have put a tremendous amount of time and energy into giving us all a better understanding of Borderline Personality Disorder.

If you've taken the time to read this review, then I strongly suggest you read Ms Reiland's book. I hope that you find it to impact your own life in the strong, positive way that it impacted mine.

I have read all the reviews on this book, and was dismayed to read comments like: I cannot stand to see her lash out at all the people that have hurt her, or, self serving??? Do you people know what its like to have something you never asked for? She was abused!! The fact that she lashed out at others doesn't make it right, its a reality. And if someone had helped when she was growing up, she would not have any problems. This book is painfully real, obviously detailed accounts. It takes a courageous woman to face her demons. I have been abused horribly, in my childhood and adult years, and nothing upsets me more that to hear someone say "She's got PROBLEMS!" duh you think??? Rachel goes a long way to show how bad it can get before it gets better and I applaud her for sure. Mental illness is a ILLNESS and I think people forget that. This book is a 10 star in my review. Don't get me wrong, its no excuse to treat others badly for sure. But keep in mind, she DID get help.
Hats off to you Rachel! And keep up the good work.

I am the "Dr. Padgett" ( a pseudonym ) depicted in the book. My former patient has written an accurate account of her experiences in psychotherapy and did so completely on her own, without in-put from me. I have recommended the book to selected patients and they have found it very helpful during their therapies with me.

I've been diagnosed with BPD for about 10 years now, and this is always the first book I recommend to people newly diagnosed and struggling to understand their disorder. I think it's the best book ever written on BPD--and better yet, it's written "from the inside", by a woman who struggled for years with severe BPD and overcame it. This is a WONDERFUL book--honest to the point of being painful, insightful, and above all, inspirational--it gives hope to all who suffer from this illness. If you suffer from BPD yourself and want to understand it better (and to know you're NOT alone)--buy this book! And if you live with someone diagnosed with BPD, please read this wonderful book--it will give you insight into this disorder you will find nowhere else!!

Thank you for writing this fantastic book, Rachel, and God bless you--you have offered hope to many, many people.

I too suffer from a severe case of Borderline Personality Disorder. And while I am only a teen, I related strongly to Rachel Reiland's feelings and behaviors exhibited in this book. It is a great read both for anyone suffering from BPD and those who would like to understand it more. She really gets you inside her head. It's almost frightening at points but it does have a good ending. This book helped me find hope and also helped me to understand myself much better. I would recommend it to anyone with BPD and anyone wanting to know more.

This book shows you the true, strong, feelings and emotions that are involved in borderline personality. It's not psychobable. It's an honest and straightforward picture of what it is like to be borderline. Without giving out the ending, the title does mention recovery; a possibility not always widely recognized in the mental health field. It's a definite, I don't want to put this book down type of book. Thank you to the author for sharing her story.

Get Me Out of Here is a brilliantly written book about Rachel Reiland's struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder. Reiland does a great job of verbally expressing the pain and anger that this disorder caused her, as well as helping to explain why she developed the disorder (her childhood experiences). Some may be shocked by the intensity of her anger and outbursts, but one must keep in mind that these outbursts are just a sign of her problems with BPD. She was lucky that she had an understanding husband and a very patient psychiatrist. A lot of patients with this disorder aren't as lucky as she and end up being dumped by either their family or their therapist or both.

I had been looking for the perfect book to read to help me with my ever increasing struggles with borderline personality. I had read the "self help" books and the books that tell the symptoms accurately, and in depth, but what I wanted this time was a book written by someone like me, in hopes of feeling less alone. When I was reading the reviews for this book, I found many of them that said the book was "inspirational" and everything like that, and then I read reviews that said it was "simplistic" and "reiterated points over and over", and I wasn't sure if I should even bother.

After getting the book for free, I decided there was no reason not to at least read it.

The book starts off as described by negative reviews: simplistic. Symptoms of borderline that everyone with borderline sees in themselves were laid out in plain language and not presented in any way that can't be found in the vast "self help" books. At this point, I started to become disappointed and afraid that the book was going to be a waste of time.

As the book progresses, Rachel becomes worse, she finds herself, although in recovery, lashing out in ways she never imagined and hurting everyone around her. There were times that I read the book and I found myself hating her, and worse, I hated myself.

And then, as Rachel finds herself becoming sucked in to the depths of her disorder, and getting out of control, layers and layers of broken coping mechanisms that had appeared nothing more than abusive, manipulative and selfish reveal the true nature of the borderline personality: never ending fear of being forever alone and unlovable.

It was at this point that the mere presentation of common symptoms became much more: as Rachel begins to understand herself, the symptoms are shown to the reader as more than dysfunctional coping mechanisms: they are given a sense of humanity and drive and begin to show the motives of nothing more than a terrified, humiliated child, reaching out to be unconditionally loved.

This was when I realized that the progression of the book was perfect: the book begins, as described, very simplistic, as Rachel doesn't understand herself and only sees destructive behaviors that she can't make sense of. And then eventually the complexity of the book becomes overwhelming, as Rachel sees her inner most feelings and tries to cope.

This book, to be blatant, could not be fully appreciated by someone who has not personally felt what it is like to live with borderline personality disorder. To someone on the outside: it is just a case of a psychotic woman who finds treatment and recovers. To someone with borderline: it is a chilling account of their very own life, innermost fears worked through by complete strangers.

There are so many things in this book that are revolutionary for me, that trying to sit here and convey them feels almost impossible. Although I read reviews of the book that complain that it is reiterative, and the basis of therapy is nothing more than constantly repeating the same explanation... that is the core of the borderline personality. A persistent need by that person to find love and hold on to it as tightly as possible, and no matter how many broken coping mechanisms they force themselves to work away from, they find themselves with more, different broken coping mechanisms in hopes of achieving the same task.

Dr. Padgett presents a therapy technique for Rachel that is so much more than I could have ever imagined experiencing in therapy. He presents the one thing that people with borderline truly need: unconditional love, a feeling of safety, while still experiencing limits and boundaries in the face of their destructive behaviors. Although Rachel becomes painfully aware of how dysfunctional she has become, she is never led to feel by Dr. Padgett as though she is bad or wrong, or that she doesn't deserve to be happy. Without this, I don't believe that her feelings could have been dealt with.

The explanation of the book is correct in saying that it is in no way a self help book, and will never lead anyone to recovery. What it offers, instead, is something much more realistic: measurable, achievable results for someone suffering from severe borderline, in turn giving the reader an intense sense of hope. The book shows the many many layers of borderline defenses come crashing down, and never for once is there an unrealistic overnight "Aha!" where Rachel suddenly feels better, because this is not how it works.

As someone who has suffered from borderline for what feels like every waking hour of my entire life, and struggled with therapy and medications to find no answers, this book gives me something to hold on to and helps me believe that I can one day be like Rachel. I hope that many other people with borderline, out of answers, pick up this book and find the strength to continue on.

i am a graduate student in a program of clinical psychology. i picked up this book for pleasure reading.. and to gain more understanding about borderline personality disorder. i thought that the book started out slow, but picked up very quickly. i was impressed with her ability to provide such a raw portrayal of herself, as well as incorporate her observations about her therapist. once i was about half way through the book, i was hooked all the way till the end. she provides a great portayal of her journey through her therapeautic process, and really highlighted key stages in therapy, such as the termination process. i thought the book was great and would highly recommend it to anyone trying to understand more about borderline personality disorder and the therapeutic process.