Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges

by Steven M. Southwick, Dennis S. Charney

Many of us will be struck by one or more major traumas sometime in our lives. Perhaps you have been a victim of sexual abuse, domestic violence or assault. Perhaps you were involved in a serious car accident. Perhaps you are a combat veteran. Maybe you were on the beach in Thailand during a tsunami, or in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Or maybe, you are among the millions who have suffered a debilitating disease, lost a loved one or lost your job. This inspiring book identifies ten key ways to weather and bounce back from stress and trauma. Incorporating the latest scientific research and dozens of interviews with trauma survivors, it provides a practical guide to building emotional, mental and physical resilience. Written by experts in post-traumatic stress, this book provides a vital and successful roadmap for overcoming the adversities we all face at some point in our lives.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Health, Science, Personal Development, Personal Growth

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2012

Reviews

[Sean Halpin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like a severely edited PhD dissertation that has been shortened and reformatted into a self-help book. Despite some good stories I am very disappointed with the writing and the content.

There are many other--more comprehensive resources out there. If you are looking to learn about the science of resilience I would suggest the book titled Resilience, and edited by Corey Keyes. Although it is a little bit dated--so is much of the research cited by Southwick and Charney. Another science based text would be Martin Seligman's book titled Flourish. Seligman's book provides well thought out and digested examples of research on a variety of topics relevant to resilience. Where Southwick and Charney's text sometimes reads like a copy and pasted composite of quotes from other text, Flourish provides a more thoughtful account of the science surrounding resilience.

Tal Ben Shaar's book Happier could be more easily applied as a self-help book. With pithy and clear text that does not come across as repetitive or forced.

I had hoped for much more with this book. Unfortunately what I found was a listing of other authors, their titles, places of work, and a mashing of quotes that were sometimes insightful and sometimes repetitive and difficult to wade through.

[Yurii Kochemasov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Читаючи, десь бачив себе, у порадах, практиках, у любові. Життя складне, але ми відповідальні що з ним зробити, та як впливати щоб нести позитивні речі. А головне це любов!

[Barbara Spurll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare yourself for some vivid descriptions of torture and suffering in this book about overcoming and potentially growing from the various traumas most of us face in our lives. Powerful and insightful.

From the book:
Perhaps our most graphic example of acceptance involved another Vietnam POW who, after 15 months in solitary confinement, sensed that he was about to ”lose his mind”. Each day he struggled to understand how and why his life had taken such a dramatic turn. Less than two years earlier, as a Navy aircraft carrier pilot, he had reached the top of his game. He was highly respected, had “the best job in the world”, and was happily married with two children. Now, starved and emaciated, he lay shackled in a rat-and mosquito- infested windowless concrete prison cell, refusing to believe or accept that his life had been reduced to mere survival.
And then, one morning, he heard a loud and distinct voice that startled him.
“This is your life.”

[Roma Giannina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the scientific studies are great evidence of resilience, but many of the stories are repeated over and over to where you get the idea. What fascinates me were the studies done which had actual measurable and visible (via MRI) changes in the brain--for a real self help book I would have liked some very real, practical exercises for these types of results instead of more hokey 'just be positive' statements and block quotes. For someone like me who has NEVER been positive, I was really looking for the 'science of mastering life's greatest challenges', complete with self experiments, homework and the like. That's great that some rape victims and POW's seem to be invincible, but I feel far removed and can't relate. So it goes. Started off strong but my interest has tapered off towards the end.

[Daisy (Natasha) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, exactly what I needed and will be handing on to anyone going through tough times.

[Terry Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of the books out there about resilience are not study-backed. This one is, comprehensively, with great case studies and peer-reviewed science, but it's easy to read for all that. If you're looking for more than a pep-talk, start here.

[Christine Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A while ago my life changed drastically. I faced the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to accept. It took time and effort, but I’ve worked through it to the best of my ability. Reading this book helped me to further solidify my hard work and resolve not to let things which are not in my control continue to control my life. “During our work with various clients, we have often encountered people who were mistreated in childhood by one or both parents. Such individuals are often fiercely determined to live a life different from that of their abuser. Rather than imitate the negative behavior, they make a great effort to learn new, more positive behaviors . . . they use the example of the abuser as a guidepost for what not to do and what not to become. This becomes a mission that they carry out as they develop relationships and raise their own families” (103). Amen to that! “One of the first psychologists to study resilience, Emmy Werner, followed the lives of children who were raised in impoverished homes with an alcoholic, abusive, or mentally ill parent. Werner observed that resilient children – the ones who grew up to be productive, emotionally healthy adults – had at least one person in their lives who truly support them and served as an admired role model” (98). I had two great family role models in my life: my grandmother and my grandfather. I had one or two teachers along the way who were also instrumental in keeping me on the right track. My idol, Ellen DeGeneres, keeps me in good spirits on a daily basis, as well as the belief that I am making a positive difference in the lives of my students.

[AJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, you need to read this in a particular way if you are a lay person and not into all the scientific details. There's lots of good info on the results of their research into 10 factors that help people be resilient in the face of overwhelming trauma or devastating life events. Plus lots of other resources you could follow in pursuit of info on any one of the resilience factors.

But warning: if you have any PTSD, some of the stories are pretty triggering just relating what other people experienced. I think they've included them to help readers see that humans can endure, survive, and recover from the absolute worst ezperiences. However, I had to skip those often.

[Sally]

This could have been a book that anyone can read. It is most definitely not a book for folks who are easily triggered into feelings of panic, anxiety or PTSD. I could barely skim 2 chapters before deciding that whatever message of hope the authors are trying to offer is not worth the pages and pages of detailed suffering and trauma.

[Pauline Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courage and Strength

This book was recommended to me. I enjoyed the stories and examples of how people have overcome some real challenges in life. What they did to be strong and how their resilience helped them to move forward in their life.

[Nick Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked the format, the research, the stories, and the ways that they used each chapter to give you a framework for handling life's challenges. I have had a lot of challenges in my life, and this book really helped me to put it in perspective.

[David McClendon, Sr · Rating 5 out of 5]

By now most of our readers are well aware that we have read and reviewed many books on psychology. Perhaps one could say we are amateur psychologists.

We were sent an advanced reading copy of Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges 2nd Edition by Steven Southwick and Dennis Charney to review and we have to say we found it to be very interesting.

This book is a fairly easy read like many pop psych books, but it is loaded with information like a psychology textbook. It is kind of the best of both worlds.

Resilience is very well-referenced. The book references scores of peer-reviewed articles, as well as books and interviews. We give it all five stars.

If you are interested in why some people break during or after a traumatic event and others don’t, you may find Resilience to be insightful. We think this would make a great resource for psychology classes that deal in PTSD and other conditions.


We were sent a complimentary Advanced Reading Copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK. This one has stunned me. Cambridge University Press published this. Let me just confirm that. Cambridge University Press published this book. I can see very, very little difference between this book and the wider self-help genre.

The difference here is that qualitative interviews took place with 9/11 survivors, members of the military and people managing an impairment of a disability. Supposedly from these interviews, generalizable information is created about resilience for the wider population. This generalizable information has been described as a 'science.'

Extraordinarily, one of the ways in which life's challenges are mastered is through religion and faith.

I'm not sure what sort of knowledge is conveyed in this book.., Self help. Yep. Weird stuff that is sort of research via interviews with very specific groups. Yep. How any of this material can become a checklist for resilience - absolutely beyond me.

This is my last book in the resilience reading suite. I am appreciative it is over...

[Kris Muir · Rating 4 out of 5]

My take on the self-help genre is that if you can glean any particular insight that is useful for your life, then it was worth your time. "Resilience" is similar to most books in that it is wedged between being useful and being repetitive. The research here is strong (mostly peer-reviewed journals) and the wider paintbrush that is employed to define resilience as ten key factors I found intriguing. To be clear, this book is likely best for someone that has experienced a truly traumatic event (e.g. PTSD) in their life. But I also think you could discover something functional by only reading a specific chapter or two on the resilience factor that seems compelling: optimism, facing fear, moral compass, role models, religion, physical training, social support, brain fitness, cognitive/emotional flexibility, and meaning, purpose, and growth.

Happy Reading!

[AJW · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful book written by two researchers summarising not only their research into resilience, but also the research findings of many other people. They’ve identified ten components of resilience. These are:
1) Realistic optimism
2) Face your fears
3) Have a moral compass
4) Practise religion/spirituality
5) Seek and give social support
6) Look for role models (including negative models to avoid)
7) Be physically fit
8) Be mentally fit
9) Be cognitively flexible
10) Find meaning in your life
(Note that there are overlaps)

The book contains a wide mixture of content: inspiring testimonies of dealing with some horrific circumstances, how the different parts of the brain function, research studies with various groups of people, explaining PTSD and post-traumatic growth, and plenty of practical tips for the reader to implement.

[Nazlı Dilara Erdoğdu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerçekten bilgileri toparlama açısından dayanıklılık için ne gerekiyor madde madde basitçe anlatmış ve düşünmeye sevk ediyor. Sadece bir non-american olarak fazla amerikalı buldum kitabı (insert 'murica meme here). Bir bilim insanı/doktor olarak evrensel bir şey yazmaktan uzak kalabilmek beni şaşırtıyor. Ve anladık Hanoi hapisanesine (Vietnam'da bir işkence merkezi) Hanoi Hilton adını takmışlar (yaklaşık 20 kez belirtilmiş). Ve son olarak bir Amerikalının yazdığı psikoloji kitabında farz olan 11 Eylül...
Bu gibi şeylere aşırı takıldığımdan yeterli keyfi vermedi kısacası.

[Camilla Leurs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books is a comprehensive discussion of how we can build resilience in many different areas of our lives. Also how different aspects of our lives can help improve or remove resilience. Lots of studies link in to demonstrating capability for resilience. My main thing I got from this book is Resilience is a team sport. You need support you need other resilient or motivated people to help. You need community and tribe.

[Kasper van Rooijen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very Americanized and elitist book about how to live a 'resilient' life. The book neoliberally
centralizes how one should act in case of adversity, but ignores the structures of inequality that might render someone in a lower socio-economic position than someone else. The book seems like a manifesto of Western capitalism, which reframes well-being as an individual concern and not a communal obligation.

[Susan Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the stories of real life people dealing with adversity. The research relating to diversity in different areas like cognitive, emotional, etc was very interesting.

I did find the references at the end of every chapter as opposed to the end of the book a bit irritating.

But the book is worth reading.

[Yasemin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piyasadaki bu alanda yazılmış ıvır zıvırlardan farklı. Farkı da her başlığın bilimsel çalışmalara atıflar yapılarak işlenmesinden kaynaklanıyor. Öyle ki her bölümün sonunda bu atıflar size alternatif kaynakça olarak sunulmuş. Sıkıcı değil, öğretici. Üç kez başlayıp üçüncüde bitirebildim ama bunu da belirtmem gerek.

[Mehmet Doğrul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Resilience is a practice we need for an overall better mental state. The book tells this via some stories. However, these stories are just very neoliberal and American. What is the meaning of hearing 'Life is precious' from a US veteran, like it was not once their job to kill people and to lead to destabilization of countries worldwide?

[Dawsey Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was required reading for a university class, but I genuinely enjoyed it. There are so many good lessons about how to be strong and resilient. The inspiring stories of people who have been through so much, yet choose to move forward and mentor and lift so many others were so cool to read! I definitely recommend this book.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it a third of the way through the book. The detailed descriptions of torture and horrible experiences were just too much for me. Paired with no practical ways to build resilience in life, I'm giving it one star.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting read. There are some quite horrific stories told but it doesn’t appear gratuitous. It is more reminiscent of a textbook as a study of resilience than your average self-help book.

[Tom Kammerer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of content is common sense, nonetheless, a lot of takeaways and inspiring to boot

[Sosanna Olson · Rating 1 out of 5]

review removed at the request of the publisher.

[Dr. Shailla Vaidya the Yoga MD]

Great summary of ALL the factors related to resiliency.

[Sophia Hamblen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. Think it could be my favourite.

[Cathy Sites · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for work. It was OK. The stories of POWs were powerful, and the concept behind community resilience is timely.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inappropriately triggering and scarring stories included peppered throughout. This is much more for clinicians and not for self helpers :/