“Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy” tells us an inspiring story of a woman, who happens to be the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and the founder of LeanIn.org: Sheryl Sandberg. The book is co-authored by Adam Grant, a renowned American psychologist and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Sandberg, in this book, expresses her true to life emotions that she suddenly encounters after the unexpected demise of her loving husband, Dave Goldberg. She reveals how a traumatic experience can leave one utterly bereft of hope.
Dave dies quite unexpectedly when the couple was enjoying a vacation, leaving Sandberg and two of her children in complete disbelief, shock, and pain. Sandberg has painstakingly captured the whole gamut of emotions she experienced when Dave’s death robbed her of all the reasons for not giving up on life.
Sandberg narrates how she derived personal strength from within and decided to open her heart out in her social circle seeking support to console herself during the darkest phase of her life. Developing resilience is not easy. Sandberg suggests that resilience can be built not by suppressing our emotions but by accepting our grief and coming out in the open to speak about our emotions.
The book will leave its readers inspired and emotional at the same time, especially with Sandberg’s profound note of tribute to Dave in his funeral:
“If on the day I walked down the aisle with him (Dave), someone had told me that we would have only eleven years together, I would still have walked down that aisle. Eleven years of being Dave’s wife and ten years of being a parent with him is perhaps more luck and more happiness than I could have ever imagined. I am grateful for every minute we had.”
End Verdict
We must always be prepared to make terms with Option B, when Option A seems to slip through fingers every moment, despite our tight grasp. According to Sandberg, certain aspects of life cannot be controlled, but resilience can show the path from despair to hope and give life a whole new purpose.
This book is a must-read for everyone, particularly for those who are dealing with any form of loss (even the subtle ones, for what seems to be subtle to you might be overwhelming for somebody), or depression in their lives. This book also deserves a place in the bookshelf or kindle library of everyone who has experienced emotional contagion even for once in one’s lifetime.
Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars
Recommendation: Do read and write about the message from Sandberg & Grant that resonated with you the most after reading it!
Buy the book on Amazon: Link
Review by: Debahuti, India
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Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa
Categories: Reading Room
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