The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life [Paperback]

Dr. Robert Brooks (Author), Sam Goldstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2004

"Continuing their pioneering work on resilience, they now show how and why it is never too late for adults to find strength and safety in life."
--Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of Driven to Distraction

"A uniquely wise guide summarizing a vast amount of research into a practical set of strategies to overcome adversity and live a stress-hardy life."
--Jack Canfield, coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In their latest book, psychologists Brooks and Goldstein (the authors of Raising Resilient Children) describe how adults can develop a "resilient mindset." According to the authors, while the word "resilient" is usually associated with people overcoming great adversity, daily stress often requires resilience. Using many examples from their clinical practice, Brooks and Goldstein outline how this mindset is best achieved. The first step is "rewriting negative scripts," or changing behavior that one repeats over and over despite its negative outcome, such as a manager yelling at his employees for being uncreative. Other strategies include developing empathy; communicating effectively; accepting oneself and others; and developing self-discipline. An appendix offers worksheets addressing the concepts covered in each of the chapters. Throughout, the authors emphasize taking responsibility for one's actions and their impact on others, as well as setting realistic short- and long-term goals. Their examples, such as the demanding manager and the couple who nag their teenage son, are familiar figures in whom readers may be able to see themselves or people they know. Although it's likely that, for many, a major change in one's approach toward life's difficulties would require the professional help that Brooks's and Goldstein's patients sought, their book does offer hope and a number of useful strategies readers can try to put into practice on their own.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A uniquely wise guide summarizing a vast amount of research into a practical set of strategies to overcome adversity and live a stress-hardy life."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071431985
• ISBN-13: 978-0071431989
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good January 29, 2008

By Chicago Yeti

Format:Hardcover

This book actually has several lists and practical ideas that you can use to fight defeated attitudes and regain focus in your life. Some ideas I really liked were:

- taking time to celebrate your successes...

- taking small steps towards your ultimate goal (and preparing for what to do if you hits snags).

-making the decision to look at failures/mistakes as an opportunity to learn instead of a confirmation that you're a loser.

The book on tape is really the way to go, but if you love to read I guess the paper version would work just fine. I'm sure there are lots of complex, overly complicated works on this subject out there, but this isn't one of them!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just reading Brooks and Goldstein helps me feel more positive. June 10, 2008

By Amazonmarm

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought "Raising Resilient Children" first, on my journey to being a better parent. Of course, I wanted to be a better role model of resiliency. I was overjoyed to see that Brooks and Goldstein had written a book for just such an audience!

This book is filled with real suggestions, illustrative examples, and worksheets to aid you in your work towards resiliency. As in "Raising Resilient Children", I feel like Brooks and Goldstein truly empathize with how much work there is in increasing resiliency and give the reader skills that truly help.

The very tone of the book itself helps me feel like there's someone out there who empathizes and wants to work with me to improve my character. These two really walk the talk of empathy and emotional support. Highly recommended.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome highly benefitical February 18, 2010

By Sylvia Johnson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dr.'s Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein have coupled together a much successful holistic guidelines to follow. I was seeking ideals on positive holistic education to share with my on line visitors for my Self Improvement website and I am happy to say their book and methods serves as an assist to my own personal life experience with self awareness. When they speak of re-writing new positive scripts to replace the old, along with real life experiences and cases. Prove to ones just how simple it is to over look the obvious and just how easy it is to make that transition from darkness into light.

Thank you Dr.'s Brooks and Goldstien!

Sylvia Johnson

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book July 22, 2011

By Ellen Laman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The was such an uplifting and inspirational book- fabulous- I have recommended this book to many friends- and I read again and again. Definitely worth your time to read.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a Book for Ages February 21, 2013

By GreenEyed Lady

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Being a reader of self-help books, I was really disappointed and bored when I started reading this book. If you need to develop a low-level of resilience, this book may be for you. It has several examples of people unhappy with their jobs or relationships and how the writers (therapists) helped them to see their situations and lives in a more positive light. However, if you are trying to develop a tougher kind of resilience in the face of job loss and continued unemployment, divorce, drug addicted family/friends, harrassment in the workplace, mental/emotional/physical abuse, death, disease, and the "harder" aspects of life...you are not going to get it here. Perhaps the authors thought you need to get specific books to help you with resilience on the aforementioned topics. I did not finish reading this book because I couldn't bear to read one more chapter on having a positive attitude. While I think a positive attitude is a great thing to have, I would have liked to have seen some very specific activities and behaviors for readers to develop mental and physical toughness.

4.0 out of 5 stars good simple sense December 16, 2012

By stefanie

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

an easy listen with good simple sense. nice to listen to over and over with your kids in the car.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars New-Age feel-good pop "psychology" February 16, 2013

By William Cooper

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This may not be as easily readable as many of the Positive Psychology books out there-but it's still built on the same premise of staying happy all the time. It makes its points, that the way to stay happy is to get along with others... though, for the same lessons, you could read All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (and avoid all the instructions on how to be happy)

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Resilience September 26, 2009

By S. Eliason

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A little bit of a slow read; would be best without interuptions. Certain chapters applied to me more than others, so I'm sure there is something for everyone. I would recommend it for anyone looking to boost self esteem.