by Emily Rapp
Emily Rapp Black received congratulations on "the resurrection of your life" when her second child was born. Her colleague's words made her stop and think. Her first son Ronan had died from Tay-Sachs disease before age three. Since then, she had divorced, remarried, built her career, and welcomed a healthy daughter. People called her resilient, strong, courageous beyond what they could imagine for themselves. But she rejected the phoenix narrative. She wanted to carry her old story forward, not leave it behind. What do these words about strength really mean? Rapp Black examines cultural ideas about resilience through psychology, neurology, etymology, literature, art, and self-help. She argues we need more complex ways to understand loss, healing, and beating the odds. Life can demand we rebuild and reimagine everything at any moment. Through personal stories from her roles as mother, wife, daughter, friend, and teacher, she creates a tapestry of wisdom about carrying forward both grief and joy.
Genres: psychology, family-life, grief, self-help, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: grief, personal-growth
Paperback
Content warnings: death, mental-illness