From the Publisher
Turns out surviving the most dangerous situations has some good lessons we can use to learn how to be resilient in everyday life.” — Time magazine online
“This summer’s Big Idea book!” — Bloomberg BusinessWeek
“An inspirational read that’s rooted in hard science.” — People
“Fascinating. . . . ultimately, we discover our ability to deal with unforeseen challenges and realize the remarkable potential of the human spirit.” — Diane Dreher, Ph.D., Psychology Today
“If you read Feldman and Kravetz, you will come away inspired and more attuned to the factors that influence resilience-including religious faith, the ability to forgive, and awareness of mortality.” — Harvard Business Review
“Hope for the endurance of the human spirit in the face of tragedy. Artfully described . . . intensely powerful . . . riving . . . uplifting!” — Kirkus Reviews
“A charming and thoughtful mix of scientific thought and anecdotal evidence.” — Mindful Magazine
“Supersurvivors is a book you should uncover.” — Houston Style Magazine Online
“Supersurvivors might well be a how-to manual on taking adversity and turning it into an advantage. As I read it, I kept thinking: I wish I’d had this book ten years ago!” — Aron Ralston, survivor, speaker, author, and subject of the film 127 Hours
“Supersurvivors provides the contemporary science about the biology of hope that is vital for all of us-all of us-as we daily confront challenge big and small, real and imagined.” — Walter M. Bortz, II M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford University, and author of The Roadmap to 100
“It’s rare to find a book that appeals so well to both the head and the heart. Marrying eye-opening stories with thought-provoking science, Feldman and Kravetz open a powerful window into a world of forgiveness and hope.” — Frederic Luskin, Ph.D., author of Forgive for Good and Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project
“Just surviving suffering is a form of success. But these people have done more than survive, and their stories are worth your time. One day you may need what they have.” — Linda Ellerbee, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Journalist, TV Producer, and New York Times best-selling author
“Supersurvivors is a brilliant rethinking of the consequences of trauma. This book will change the meaning we give to survival, both for individuals and for our culture as a whole.” — Ethan Watters, Author of Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche
“This is a blockbuster that every leader, parent, doctor, teacher, student, coach, and caregiver needs to read. I can’t remember the last time I was so fascinated and moved by a book-let alone one grounded in science.” — Adam Grant, Professor at the Wharton School of Business, and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take
“Supersurvivors dares to ask, ‘How, really, do we heal?’ From real case studies and hard science, the answers it finds shake the foundations of the way we conceive recovery.” — Po Bronson, New York Times bestselling author of NurtureShock
People
An inspirational read that’s rooted in hard science.
Diane Dreher
Fascinating. . . . ultimately, we discover our ability to deal with unforeseen challenges and realize the remarkable potential of the human spirit.
Aron Ralston
Supersurvivors might well be a how-to manual on taking adversity and turning it into an advantage. As I read it, I kept thinking: I wish I’d had this book ten years ago!
Houston Style Magazine Online
Supersurvivors is a book you should uncover.
Mindful Magazine
A charming and thoughtful mix of scientific thought and anecdotal evidence.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
This summer’s Big Idea book!
Time magazine online
Turns out surviving the most dangerous situations has some good lessons we can use to learn how to be resilient in everyday life.
Harvard Business Review
If you read Feldman and Kravetz, you will come away inspired and more attuned to the factors that influence resilience-including religious faith, the ability to forgive, and awareness of mortality.
Walter M. Bortz
Supersurvivors provides the contemporary science about the biology of hope that is vital for all of us-all of us-as we daily confront challenge big and small, real and imagined.
Ethan Watters
Supersurvivors is a brilliant rethinking of the consequences of trauma. This book will change the meaning we give to survival, both for individuals and for our culture as a whole.
Adam Grant
This is a blockbuster that every leader, parent, doctor, teacher, student, coach, and caregiver needs to read. I can’t remember the last time I was so fascinated and moved by a book-let alone one grounded in science.
Linda Ellerbee
Just surviving suffering is a form of success. But these people have done more than survive, and their stories are worth your time. One day you may need what they have.
Po Bronson
Supersurvivors dares to ask, ‘How, really, do we heal?’ From real case studies and hard science, the answers it finds shake the foundations of the way we conceive recovery.
Frederic Luskin
It’s rare to find a book that appeals so well to both the head and the heart. Marrying eye-opening stories with thought-provoking science, Feldman and Kravetz open a powerful window into a world of forgiveness and hope.
Bloomberg Businessweek
This summer’s Big Idea book!
Kirkus Reviews
2014-05-07
Two psychologists provide a nontechnical exploration of how certain people not only survive trauma, but actually thrive after a traumatic experience.Feldman (Counseling Psychology/Santa Clara Univ.; co-author: The End-of-Life Handbook: A Compassionate Guide to Connecting with and Caring for a Dying Loved One, 2008, etc.) and Kravetz use artfully described case studies to demonstrate their point, while also avoiding excessive psychological terminology. The authors base each chapter on a particular aspect of change in the trauma victim—e.g., individuals such as anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who was forced to reassess her understanding of the world around her after tragedy: in her case, the loss of her son in the Iraq war. For others, there is an awakening to faith, as in the case of social activist James Cameron, who testifies that he was saved from lynching by God. There are also intensely powerful stories of forgiveness, such as that of Clemantine Wamariya, who survived the slaughter in Rwanda, followed by life as a refugee. However, the very aspect that makes the book approachable also limits its effectiveness. The authors' work is largely anecdotal in nature and does not delve into true analysis of the supersurvivor phenomenon. Though they provide some discussion of the psychological, physical and social aspects of these survivors' stories, readers are left wondering just how often a trauma survivor thrives in such ways, and why. Nevertheless, the book is uplifting and provides hope for the human condition. Feldman and Kravetz's closing story—about Nobel Peace Prize recipient Betty Williams—is particularly riveting. Her life was drastically changed one day when she witnessed a senseless sectarian killing in Northern Ireland. Instead of recoiling, she acted and began a peace movement that changed the history of that country.Hope for the endurance of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.
