The Resilience Myth
New Thinking on Grit, Strength, and Growth After Trauma
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A “vital, life-saving must-read” (Nora McInerny, author of Bad Vibes Only) manifesto for communal resilience based on in-depth investigations into history, social science, and psychology, from the bestselling author of Rage Becomes Her.
We are often urged to rely only on ourselves for strength, mental fortitude, and positivity. “With her signature clarity and penetrating mind” (Jean Guerrero, author of Hatemonger), Soraya Chemaly challenges us to reject this model—based on a culture of toxic individualism—and, instead, leverage our interdependence.
Drawing on comprehensive research and eye-opening examples from real-life, The Resilience Myth offers an “ambitious” (Publishers Weekly) feminist paradigm of resilience based on an ethic of care, cognitive flexibility, and the provision of material needs. Interdependence, collective care, and nurturing relationships to each other and the earth, she compellingly argues, are the keys to positively adapting to adversity and polycrises.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
There is a growing knowledge gap "between what we need to achieve resilient outcomes and what we are culturally told we need," according to this ambitious study from feminist and free speech activist Chemaly (Rage Becomes Her). Using a feminist and anticapitalistic framework to interrogate notions of resilience, the author posits that traditionally "male" values of rigid self-sufficiency can serve to isolate. As an alternative, she touts the use of "social connections, collaborative care, and shared resources" to adapt to challenges. (For example, she cites the pandemic-era refusal of masks and vaccines as proof of the sometimes "maladaptive" values of individualistic strength, with the disease disproportionately affecting the older white men who were most likely to reject preventive measures.) Elsewhere, she claims that corporate America's "grind culture" impairs resilience; that expectations to "bounce back" after crises impede long-term healing; and that feeling "safe" in one's body is key to facing the "uncertainty of anxiety-provoking life changes." While those seeking actionable guidance might become frustrated with Chemaly's tendency to think in broad strokes, readers who welcome a more conceptual take will appreciate her rigorous efforts to set forth an expansive view of resilience as adaptation. This is sure to spark conversation.
