The Survivor Personality: Why Some People Are Stronger, Smarter, and More Skillful at Handling Life's Difficulties...and How You Can Be, Too [Paperback]

Al Siebert (Author), Bernie Siegel (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

Who survives? Who thrives? As a psychologist who has spent more than 40 years studying the phenomenon of survival, Al Siebert shares both valuable insights and practical strategies in this book, painting a portrait of the "survivor personality" to show how these skills can lead to better coping in everyday life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When faced with adversity, tragedy, or just bad karma, what makes one person crumble, another survive, and another thrive? Al Siebert first became interested in this question when he discovered that World War II combat survivors were less like Sylvester Stallone in Rambo and more like Alan Alda playing Hawkeye, the irreverent M.A.S.H. surgeon. Years of subsequent research taught Seibert that those who survive (and thrive) often respond to challenge with humor, wisdom, and mental and emotional flexibility. No, life isn't fair, but Siebert shows us the tricks to regaining our stability in a world that seems hell-bent on knocking us off track.

About the Author

Al Siebert, Ph.D., founder of the Resiliency Center, led management psychology seminars at Portland State University for more than 40 years. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Books; Revised edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399522301
• ISBN-13: 978-0399522307
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Al Siebert, Ph.D., founder of the Resiliency Center, led management psychology seminars at Portland State University for more than 40 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide on resilience, January 5, 2002

By 

Kate McMurry "Young Adult Author" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Survivor Personality: Why Some People Are Stronger, Smarter, and More Skillful at Handling Life's Difficulties...and How You Can Be, Too (Paperback)

This is a wonderfully written book: clear, comprehensive and incredibly insightful. It helps you discover if you are a survivor or not, become one if you are not already, and avoid persecution that sometimes comes your way when you are naturally a survivor personality. I found that last part a fascinating irony: you might think, as I did before reading this book, that it is a 100% great thing to be a survivor. Unfortunately, people in the lives of survivors often criticize and attack them for the very traits that allow them to survive and prosper. To help survivors deal with this, Siebert provides invaluable information on what he calls, "surviving being a survivor." Here is one of my favorites of his many insights on this extremely important issue:

He says that resilient people are often mistaken by others, who are not so good at surviving adversity, as being "pessimists." A survivor is very talented at anticipating possible problems at work and at home and planning a response to them. (Much like the old saying, "Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.") People who hate to look before they leap often accuse survivors of being needlessly fearful, stick-in-the-mud thinkers. Of course, when the inevitable happens, and the ready-or-not-here-I-come types land in trouble, who do they always run to for help digging out of the mess they've failed to anticipate? The survivor, of course.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who needs help successfully living through traumas and catastrophes in his/her life (just about all of us!). The stories Siebert tells of survivors, including analysis of what they did to recover from agonizing events and why their approaches worked, are both practical and inspiring.

76 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Discover HOPE in Hopelessness., October 21, 2003

By 

Stephen Pletko "Uncle Stevie" (London, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Survivor Personality: Why Some People Are Stronger, Smarter, and More Skillful at Handling Life's Difficulties...and How You Can Be, Too (Paperback)

+++++

The philosopher Nietzsche once said, "That which does not destroy [or kill] me, makes me stronger." Guess what? There is finally a practical book that shows you how to do that and this is the book!!

This is not a cookbook of instructions but a book of practical guidelines to help you discover inborn abilities that NO one else can reveal to you.

What are some of the features of this book that enable you to do this? They are as follows:

(1) TRUE STORIES. The book is punctuated with true stories from those people who were initially knocked down by disruptive change. These people were able to access their will to survive, and even gain strength from their adversity.

(2) SELF-DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY INSERTS. These short activities are for helping the reader get the most out of the book. They occur at various places throughout the book.

(3) DIAGRAMS AND CHARTS. These also occur at various places throughout the book. These are to help the reader understand important concepts.

(4) THE AUTHOR'S WRITING STYLE. All of what the author writes is easy to understand. I could find no technical psychobabble anywhere in the book.

(5) OTHER RESOURCES. For those who want more information, other resources are listed at the back of the book. An internet address is also given.

I especially liked two chapters. There first one is entitled "Thriving" which reveals how to grow in adversity instead of being a victim. The other one is entitled "The Roots of Resiliency: Your Inner 'Selfs'." This chapter examines and helps the reader understand his/her inner resiliency resources.

In conclusion, being a disabled person I can validate what the author says in the final paragraph of his book: "It is...adversity [that] can lead to the discovery of strengths that you did not know you had...and a difficulty that almost breaks your spirit can be turned into one of the best things that ever happened to you."

+++++

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resilience is an Emotional Intelligence competency, April 9, 2003

By 

Susan Dunn "The EQ Coach" (Dallas,, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Survivor Personality: Why Some People Are Stronger, Smarter, and More Skillful at Handling Life's Difficulties...and How You Can Be, Too (Paperback)

I coach people in emotional intelligence, including being resilient. This book is like my Bible ... this and all Al Siebert's documented research. He actually looked at resilient seniors to see what traits they had. If you're a survivor, you'll enjoy reading all about yourself in this book, and feeling understood, perhaps for the first time. If you aren't a survivor, read it anyway. The time to build resilience is before the calamity occurs. It can be learned. It's the best antidote to stress there is, and it will make you change-proficient, a trait you need in 2003!