The Way Out was such an insightful look into neurplastic pain & how we can understand what our minds & bodies are reacting to. Gordon was light-hearted & funny throughout, and the book was very accessibly written, which I find is not very common in books on chronic pain or issues of any kind.

I also found Gordon oddly charming? Especially when listening to the audiobook, something about the way he presented himself was very sweet & made me feel a lot like I was talking to a friend.

I'm usually a bit averse to the sort of 'self help' aspect of this book, but it was really well done, and being a patient at his Pain Psychology Center, it was really cool to learn more in depth about the information that informs the work I do in-session. He really did outline some of the most important work in pain reprocessing therapy.

I'd be curious to hear about how people who attempted to 'treat themselves', for lack of better words, using the techniques he presented compare in their growth to people who go to pain reprocessing therapy and work with a professional.

I think the only real thing I wanted more from is the science behind it all. I would've been really curious to hear more about the nitty-gritty of what we do know about how neuroplastic pain works chemically & electrically, though I understand that wasn't exactly the point of this book.

Anyway, I liked it a lot, it was a quick read, and it gave me a lot of insight into & context for how my journey in pain reprocessing could look and why it works. It wasn't the most emotionally impactful or profound book I've ever read [though the postscript about 'The State of Healthcare and the Opioid Crisis' definitely struck a chord with me], but it didn't need to be that. It provided an incredible new point of view and a whole lot of things to explore in a succinct & easy to process way, and I'm grateful for it for that.