You're Stronger Than You Think: Tapping into the Secrets of Emotionally Resilient People

by Peter A. Ubel

A leading medical doctor identifies the scientific factors behind emotional resilience and how readers can use them to survive the tough times in life For five years, Dr. Peter Ubel and a team of leading scientists studied the nature of human resilience through thousands of cases of people who faced extreme medical setbacks. The result is You're Stronger than You Think , which explains how some people not only survive but also thrive in adversity, while others crumble. More important, the book identifies traits and behavior patterns of resilient people and offers specific advice on how people can develop the emotional strength to triumph in difficult times.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2006

About the author

I am a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University. My research and writing explores the quirks in human nature that influence our lives — the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions. (What fun would it be to tackle just the easy problems?) My goal is to show you, in an entertaining way, why the key to living better, healthier lives, and improving the societies we live in, is to understand human nature.

I’m also a Professor of Business, Public Policy and Medicine at Duke University. (Officially, I’m the – prepare to be impressed – Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business at Fuqua.) My research explores controversial issues about the role of values and preferences in health care decision making, from decisions at the bedside to policy decisions. I use the tools of decision psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like doctor-patient communication, medical decision-making, and healthcare cost containment.

I grew up in Minnesota where I attended an all boys, Roman Catholic, military high school – a definite triple whammy for a horny teenager. Then when I submitted my high school photograph to my undergraduate college, Carleton, and it got posted in the annual book of new students, my classmates decided I was a fascist , leaving me at a decidedly unCatholic, non-military, co-ed college, already shunned. Sigh…

In my spare time, I enjoy classical piano (fanatical about Beethoven and Chopin), chili peppers (both growing and eating them), and sports (when I’m not nursing my most orthopedic injury).

When my now “adult” kids are both in town, we love to spend dinner time playing bridge, the greatest card game ever invented. (Spologies to poker fans)

Reviews

[Mary-Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting anecdotes on how people deal with the emotions surrounding their significant physical limitations. But I kept wishing the book would be less pop psych and more scholarly in its approach.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book allows you to reflect on creating your own happiness in spite of the adversities that life tosses your way. Emotional resiliency is essential to life.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core notion of this book is quite innovative, and rooted in unusually deep and thorough social science: people have vast amount of emotional resilience, and can adapt after substantial adversity. Moreover, people systematically and predictably underestimate their resilience.

The book take us through a nice tour of this research, much of it done in health contexts by the author himself. It suffers from the usual challenges of the pop science book -- perhaps a bit too much geekiness for the "lay audience", not nearly enough for your dear reviewer. But it moves along quickly and makes some very useful points. Assuredly worth reading if you are involved in some way in helping people make decisions around dramatic setbacks in their life.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: the author is a former boss and I'm mentioned in the "thank yous." :) The book summarizes research on resilience through the story of one of Peter's patients and a colleague/friend of his. It's written for a general audience, but it's still an academic book.