"The Murray Method" Book Review
Daniel Crosby • January 8, 2025
“The Murray Method” by Marilyn Murray would be a great read for you if you’ve been through a lot of life trauma and you’re ready to dig into it and try to sort it out and understand it better.
Murray wrote another book called “Prisoner of Another War” which I reviewed in 2024. Go back and listen to it if you want to know what all she went through personally which was the start of her own trauma healing journey.
What she lays out in “The Murray Method” is a systematic approach to working through your own trauma. The book is understandable enough that anyone can read it and work through their own stuff, but it’s deep enough where it’s surgical and will really get to the root of the issues.
I recommend going through it with a counselor or close trusted friend or ally because you’re going to unearth some new ideas and ways of reframing what you went through that need to be talked out.
It’s also a good resource if you’re a loved one and just want to understand a spouse or friend’s trauma healing journey and how to help.
The book is practical and filled with dozens of exercises to help you experience, feel, and see the roots of your pain and begin to heal.
Choosing to begin healing is not for the faint of heart but it’s well worth the work put in. “The Murray Method” by Marilyn Murray would be a great start.
Look for beautiful things when you're restless, uncomfortable, or on edge. There's something about acknowledging the good around us that helps us reset and realize that it's not all bad. If you're struggling to see beautiful things in the world, come see me and we can talk more about it. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com
“The Needs of the Heart” by Chip Dodd is a book that will blow your mind. When I picked it up, it’s a very small thin book. Less than 100 pages. I assumed I’d breeze through it in a couple of hours. About a month later I finished digesting it. The truth is we cannot fully live the life God has called us to unless we acknowledge that we do have needs, that these needs are good, and discover the healthy ways of meeting these needs. Chip takes common human needs like Security and Accomplishment and he unpacks what they really are pointing us to in his typical concise but brilliant depth. There’s no fluff here. With chapters just 3-4 pages each, you’re going to want to have a highlighter ready to underline, to ponder these topics, and maybe then to discuss them with someone you know and trust. You’ll come away from this book with a deeper sense what is already fulfilled within you and ones that might be lacking where you need to go do a deep dive with a lot of prayer and introspection. If you liked Chip’s book “The Voice of the Heart,” this is one is your next read. Go grab “The Needs of the Heart” by Chip Dodd.
Two ways a counselor might help you get uncomfortable and grow: 1. Systematic Desensitization is progressively working your way up to do harder things until you reach your goal and the hard things don't feel as hard anymore. 2. Flooding is when you conquer the struggle by going all in and confronting it head on. It's like teaching someone to swim by throwing them in the deep end of the pool. Could these things help you overcome some complacency? Come see me and we can talk more about it. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com
