Sharon’s favorite book is revealed to be The Prince of Tides in Ted Lasso season 2, episode 2, offering insight into the sport psychologist's character. Throughout the series, books have played an important role in terms of character development and underlying themes of the show. In season 1, Ted chooses a different book to gift each of the players, specifically based on their individual needs. And, in season 2, Ted Lasso continues to use books to provide clues about where the story and characters are headed.
Dr. Sharon takes her work very seriously, and she is immune to Ted’s charming ways, seeing past his happy-go-lucky outward demeanor. As such, things get off to a rocky start between them. When Ted tries to bond with her by asking Sharon about her favorite book. She refuses to answer at first, but by the end of episode 2, she softens, telling him it's Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides.
Conroy’s The Prince of Tides revolves around a former football player from the south named Tom Wingo, his family, and the traumatic childhood he and his siblings endured. In the novel, when Tom’s sister attempts to take her own life, Tom meets her successful yet unhappy New York City psychologist, Susan. Coming from highly different backgrounds, the two don’t initially see eye to eye, but they put their difference aside to help Tom’s sister. In the end, they help each other just as much, if not more. This is similar to Ted and Sharon, who come together to help the other teammates work out their own internal struggles in Ted Lasso. But, like Tom and Susan in the novel, Ted and Sharon surely have some problems of their own that need working out as well. Exploring the parallels between Tom and Sharon and Ted and Susan may help to explain parts of Sharon's personality, foreshadowing her character's role in the story.
In The Prince of Tides, Tom — like Ted — uses humor to mask any pain he may feel about his past, which he rarely openly talks about before meeting Susan. Ted’s shiny outlook on life is part of Ted Lasso and its title character’s appeal, but the show has already dropped hints about Ted’s troubled past. His wife left him in season 1, he misses his daughter who lives an ocean away, and he lost his father at a young age. These are issues Ted hasn’t really dealt with on a deeper level, and as Susan does for Tom in the novel, Sharon will likely be the catalyst that gets Ted to deal with these hard truths.
However, The Prince of Tides reference speaks to Sharon's inner character. In the novel, Susan’s cold and distant outward demeanor turns out to be a defense mechanism. Part of Susan's unhappiness stems from her troubled home life. Eventually, Tom is able to break through the icy exterior, and as Susan helps Tom and his sister overcome their past traumas, Tom helps Susan with her own. The show hasn’t revealed a lot about Sharon’s past yet, but, if her favorite book is any indication, Ted and the team may help Sharon with her own internal demons, too. How exactly Dr. Sharon will change and grow as the sports psychologist provides growth for the other characters is yet to be seen, but the show has already started to reveal her softer side. Like the show’s positive outlook, Ted’s attitude is also contagious. Given this, it's likely both she and Ted will continue to open up as Ted Lasso season 2 progresses.