Living with Adversity

Adversity is widespread. While many people recognize the challenges posed by destitution, disease, disability, or discrimination, considering only these conditions seriously underestimates how much adversity there is. We meet and interact with many people, but only rarely do we know anything about the hardships they confront.


The eighteen personal accounts in this collection provide a range of examples of the kinds of physical, psychological, and social adversities people face. The authors explain what it is like to live with these challenges. The essays convey both the hardships and challenges but also methods of adaptation and coping. The narratives are intended to be neither redemptive nor morose. They are frank but un-wallowing descriptions that will enlighten those not facing the same adversities—and resonate with those who do share them.