What Doesn't Kill Us
The New Psychology of Posttraumatic Growth
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Surviving a traumatic experience is difficult and takes time to move on from, but this book makes the argument that with proper care and understanding, survivors can grow and reshape their lives in a positive way.
For the past twenty years, pioneering psychologist Stephen Joseph has worked with survivors of trauma. His studies have yielded a startling discovery: that a wide range of traumatic events-from illness, divorce, separation, assault, and bereavement to accidents, natural disasters, and terrorism-can act as catalysts for positive change. Boldly challenging the conventional wisdom about trauma and its aftermath, Joseph demonstrates that rather than ruining one's life, a traumatic event can actually improve it. Drawing on the wisdom of ancient philosophers, the insights of evolutionary biologists, and the optimism of positive psychologists, What Doesn't Kill Us reveals how all of us can navigate change and adversity- traumatic or otherwise-to find new meaning, purpose, and direction in life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Trauma," with its connotation of experiential shock and protracted emotional pain, has become one of the bywords of modern culture. Yet, maintains British psychologist Joseph, trauma can lead to personal growth and a richer life, including a "reprioritization of values" and a greater appreciation of the gift of life. While part of the still relatively new movement of positive psychology, Joseph is not pollyannaish; he acknowledges that the stress that follows trauma can be intense and extensive. The most helpful part of Joseph's book is a postscript in which he offers guidance for readers trying to manage their emotions, including six markers of growth, beginning with taking stock and expressing change in action. The book fails to differentiate between types of trauma surely someone who has witnessed a murder, suffered rape, or been tortured undergoes a different recovery process than someone who has been in a serious car accident and offers only cursory descriptions of such therapeutic treatments as "compassionate mind training." As traditional views of the consequences of trauma have been too dour, Joseph's claim, in this otherwise informative and thoughtful book, that trauma can lead to an "existential journey to a richer life" may be a touch too upbeat.
