An Evening with Chris Olsen

Social media phenomenon and mental health advocate Chris Olsen invites readers into his therapist’s office—and into the story he’s spent years trying to understand—in this raw, fearless, and darkly funny memoir. For much of his childhood, Chris Olsen believed his family was ordinary, even idyllic. Then, at thirteen years old, everything changed. When his mother revealed she was an alcoholic, the foundation beneath him cracked open, exposing secrets, struggles, and generational wounds that would shape the course of his life. Years later, determined to make sense of a story that often felt written for him rather than by him, Chris returns to the moments that defined him. Guided by conversations with his therapist, Lizzie, he revisits the memories he’s spent years avoiding: hiding his sexuality from the people he loved, navigating his parents’ tumultuous divorce, surviving toxic relationships, watching his mother cycle through treatment centers, and eventually confronting his own addiction. With the same sharp humor, emotional honesty, and magnetic storytelling that have won over millions of followers, Chris peels back the layers of his public persona to reveal the messy, complicated truths underneath. As he reckons with the gap between the version of himself the world came to know online and the person struggling, grieving, and growing behind the screen, he asks a universal question: Who are we when no one is watching? By turns hilarious, heartbreaking, and deeply hopeful, I Think My Therapist Hates Me is a personal exploration of the stories we inherit, the identities we construct, and the courage it takes to face ourselves honestly. It’s a heartfelt reminder that self-discovery is messy, recovery is hard-won, and becoming the author of your own life begins with telling yourself the truth.