“The
overwhelming message of this book is: We’re a lot more resilient than we think
we are. But there are things we can do for ourselves, and for other people who
are hurting, that will really allow that resilience to bloom.” —Katie Couric
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
combines Sandberg’s personal insights with Grant’s research on finding strength
in the face of adversity. After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl
Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy
again. “I was in ‘the void,'” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your
heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe.” Her
friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps
people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. Grant
purports that we are not born with a fixed amount of resilience; it is a muscle
that everyone can build.
The
book seeks to illuminate how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for
ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities,
and workplaces.
“We’ve
had to change every part of our day-to-day life because of COVID-19,” said Cara
Williams Fry, WITF’s senior vice president and chief content officer. “We are
adapting and re-adapting to shifting guidance. Having to quarantine and be
separated from our loved ones has taken a mental toll on our lives. WITF and
Transforming Health are honored to share this powerful, inspiring, and practical
book which focuses on building resilience and moving forward after life’s
inevitable setbacks.”
WITF
invites readers across central Pennsylvania to A Summer Read: Beyond
the Pages, a virtual special event with Sandberg and Grant on Tuesday,
September 29 LIVE at 7pm (EST) on WITF’s YouTube channel. Transforming Health
reporter Brett Sholtis will moderate a discussion and audience Q&A with the
authors, as they share personal stories, talk about building resilience and
moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks. This free event is open to the
public, but pre-registration is required.