There's a lot of great stuff in this well-timed book about our cultural narrative of "resilience" and "grit." Soraya Chemaly takes a broad look at many ways the idea of "resilience" shapes our lives, in short sub-sections, and integrating personal and cultural examples. One chapter looks at childhood trauma and how children are being taught the ideal of resilience, being praised for, for example, showing "grit" in going back to school after a school shooting. Another looks at how negativity is a normal part of life that is important not to suppress in many situations, and another examines how resilience narratives have been tied into workplace/capitalist culture and the prioritization of "productivity." Throughout, Chemaly examines the way the resilience myth reinforces toxic gender dynamics and places an uneven burden on folks from various marginalized backgrounds.

When I picked up the book I was looking for a deeper dive on the productivity/workplace aspects of resilience culture and found a lot of the content fairly high-level and familiar for me. But I appreciated the range of dynamics covered and Chemaly's accessible, heartfelt writing style. I would definitely recommend this book for people just coming to the realization that something is off when it comes to how our society glamorizes resilience.