Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges

Dr. Steven Southwick, the Glenn H. Greenberg Professor of Psychiatry, and Dr. Dennis Charney, the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine

(Cambridge University Press)

This second edition of “Resilience” has been revised significantly due to updated research and changes in the lives of the authors. Dr. Dennis Charney survived a shotgun wound to the shoulder and Dr. Steven Southwick is currently in treatment for cancer. Each has been using the strategies on resilience that they have been studying for the past 25 years in dealing with their own challenges and each discusses not only the science of resilience but their own personal experiences.

The book provides a guide to building emotional, mental, and physical resilience by presenting 10 factors to help anyone become more resilient to life’s challenges. Specific resilience factors such as facing fear, optimism, and social support are described through the experiences and personal reflections of highly resilient survivors. These survivors also describe real-life methods for practicing and benefiting from the resilience factors. As resilience is the complex product of genetic, psychological, biological, social, and spiritual factors, the authors investigate resilience from multiple scientific perspectives. They synthesize the latest literature on the topic, describe their own research on resilience, and quote from their interviews with highly resilient people.