The Resilience Myth

New Thinking on Grit, Strength, and Growth After Trauma

FROM THE AUTHOR OF RAGE BECOMES HER, A POWERFUL ARGUMENT FOR COMMUNAL RESILIENCE BASED ON IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE HISTORY, SOCIAL SCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGY, POLITICS, AND PERSONAL NARRATIVES BEHIND HOW WE THINK ABOUT CRISIS AND RESPOND TO TRAUMA

In this thought-provoking exploration, writer and activist Soraya Chemaly challenges our common, most dearly held myths of resilience and urges us to shift our perspective from prioritizing individualized traits and skills to uplifting collective care, material life, and open-ended connections with our communities. Resilience, she proves, is always relational. 

Chemaly dismantles notions of resilience rooted in the philosophies of “mind over matter,” “mental toughness,” “strength,” and “positive thinking,” arguing that our modern version of “resilience” is a bill of goods that has been sold to us by capitalism, colonialism, and ideologies that embrace supremacy over others. Instead, she makes the case that true resilience comes from acknowledging our fragility, recognizing our interdependencies—on each other, on nature, on time—and cultivating nurturing relationships that sustain us. Throughout, Chemaly provides concrete examples of how to enact this new model in our daily lives. She sheds new light on ACE (adverse childhood experiences) research to reframe how parents and educators should think about the long-term impact of childhood trauma, debunks the powerful notion of “bouncing back,” and explains why we have to turn away from believing that we always have to “soldier on.”

Blending rigorous research and enthralling personal storytelling, The Resilience Myth offers a new vision for collective healing by emphasizing care for our neighbors—both human and nonhuman—and our environments over just ourselves. By prioritizing compassion, creativity, and connection, this book ignites essential conversations about fostering resilience for all, not just for those who can afford it. all.

“Thoughtful and well-argued, this book offers a humane vision of the ways people must adapt their ideas of what it means to thrive to a radically changing world. . . . Provocative, necessary reading.”
—Kirkus

“Ambitious. . . using a feminist and anticapitalistic framework to interrogate notions of resilience. . . this is sure to spark conversation.”
—Publishers Weekly