What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger: Turning Bad Breaks Into Blessings - Hardcover

Schnall, Maxine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738207322 ISBN 13: 9780738207322

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2002

Synopsis

Perhaps the hardest thing to remember in the throes of a crisis is that every bad break can also be a blessing. Indeed, there are always unexpected benefits in misfortune-a refreshed or redirected sense of purpose about our life's work after the death of a loved one or the loss of a job, a new appetite for living after a serious illness-provided we meet our crises with a shift in outlook.Born of the author's own terrible trauma, What Doesn't Kill You presents hard-won advice and practical exercises to help readers effectively navigate the terrain of this difficult process. Rich with stories of people who have come through tragedy to find new or different meaning in their lives-from the author's account of her daughter's near-fatal car accident to the experiences of survivors of the September 11 attacks-What Doesn't Kill You offers a path to healing and internal transformation. Powerful and inspirational, it will help readers not only survive adversity but also harvest new strength from it that will be a lasting source of freedom from anger and despair. It is a reader's best weapon against the worst of times.

About this title

About the Author

Maxine Schnall is the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of five books. In 1974, Schnall founded Wives Self Help Foundation, Inc., the first marital hotline in America, and has served as its executive director ever since. She lives in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center, libraries are looking to update their collections on dealing with grief. As good as such classics as Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People may be, they suddenly seem outdated. This is the chief premise of Jampolsky's Healing Together. Jampolsky takes a spiritual approach to healing, including as many faith systems as possible and hence providing a global perspective consistent with his premise that the September 11 attacks call for a worldview. A psychologist and motivational speaker, Jampolsky divides his book into three parts, starting with a foundation for dealing with tragedy, then moving on to eight steps to "Personal Growth and Global Healing," and finishing with how to build a positive future, including how to help children and communities cope. The mother of a daughter crippled in a car crash, Schnall writes from the perspective of someone who has experienced grief directly, and she deals with people as individuals. Her book feels both more emotional and less spiritual than Jampolsky's, and it is also less structured despite its proposing four stages of dealing with tragedy. Schnall, the founder of Wives Self Help Foundation, shares story after story of people dealing with tragedy, including the World Trade Center collapse. Both books are well written and easy to read, and both give useful advice and are illustrated with inspiring stories. Readers will find more practical suggestions in Jampolsky's book and more inspiration and emotional support in Schnall's, but both are good choices for general collections.
David Leonhardt, Toronto
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0738207322
• ISBN 13: 9780738207322
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256