The character arc of Lori Gottlieb
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born in December 1966 in Los Angeles. Between then and now sit a Stanford degree in 1989, work as a film and television executive, a change of course into medicine and then away from it, a Pepperdine master's in clinical psychology in 2010, a first book in 2010, the Dear Therapist column at The Atlantic, and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone in 2019. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Lori Gottlieb?
She started again twice, and late.
She took her first degree at Stanford in 1989 and worked as a film and television executive. She then went to medical school, and left it, having worked out that it was not the right room. That is two career changes before the one she is known for, and it is the useful part of the line rather than a detour from it.
She took a master's in clinical psychology at Pepperdine University in 2010, at forty three, and qualified as a licensed marriage and family therapist. Marry Him, her first book, came in the same year. She has been a commentator for National Public Radio and a contributing editor at The Atlantic, where she writes the weekly Dear Therapist column.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, published in 2019, is the one that travelled. Its structure is the reason: she writes about four of her own patients and about her own therapist, at the same time and with the same candour, which means the book does something the genre almost never does. It became a New York Times bestseller, her TED talk was among the most watched of 2019, and she co-hosts the podcast Dear Therapists. She is, in effect, on both sides of the room and says so.
The moments
Lori Gottlieb's timeline.
The 1980s
Stanford
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A Stanford degree, and then a career in television.
The 1990s
Film and television
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A first career, in an industry that does not let people leave easily.
The 2000s
Into medicine, then out
Setback, and it changed everything. Two career changes before the one she is known for. That is the useful part of this line.
Write only, or qualify too
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: train as a therapist, taken, or stay a writer. The book that travelled furthest could only have been written by somebody sitting in both chairs.
The 2010s
A first book
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A first book, in the same year as the qualification.
Qualified at forty three
Milestone, and it changed everything. Forty three years old, and qualified in the thing she had been circling for a decade.
The Atlantic column
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A weekly column, answering strangers, alongside the practice.
Maybe You Should Talk
Milestone, and it changed everything. Four of her patients and her own therapist, written about with the same candour. Nobody does that.
One of the year's most watched
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The argument taken from the page to a stage, in the same year.
The 2020s
Dear Therapists
Milestone. The column, turned into a room with two voices in it.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a permission a great many people needed: that starting the real thing at forty three is not late, it is just when it happened.
What she wrote
Books by Lori Gottlieb
- 2010
Marry Him
Her first book, published in the same year she qualified as a therapist.
- 2019
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
A therapist, her therapist, and our lives revealed. Four patients and her own sessions, written with the same candour.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers changed direction twice and qualified at forty three. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Lori Gottlieb: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Lori Gottlieb's character arc?
What is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb?
Is Lori Gottlieb a real therapist?
What is Lori Gottlieb's Dear Therapist column?
Did Lori Gottlieb go to medical school?
How old was Lori Gottlieb when she qualified?
Where did Lori Gottlieb study?
Where does this timeline of Lori Gottlieb's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Lori Gottlieb, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The Atlantic, Dear Therapist column.
- Publisher records for Marry Him and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.