Option B

Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

By: Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant

Narrated by: Elisa Donovan

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

From Facebook's COO and Wharton's top-rated professor, the number-one New York Times best-selling authors of Lean In and Originals: a powerful, inspiring, and practical book about building resilience and moving forward after life's inevitable setbacks.

After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. "I was in 'the void,'" she writes, "a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe." Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build.

Option B combines Sheryl's personal insights with Adam's eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Beginning with the gut-wrenching moment when she finds her husband, Dave Goldberg, collapsed on a gym floor, Sheryl opens up her heart - and her journal - to describe the acute grief and isolation she felt in the wake of his death. But Option B goes beyond Sheryl's loss to explore how a broad range of people have overcome hardships including illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war. Their stories reveal the capacity of the human spirit to persevere...and to rediscover joy.

Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead.

Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. "I want Dave," she cried. Her friend replied, "Option A is not available," and then promised to help her make the most of Option B.

We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it.

©2017 Sheryl Sandberg (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

" Option B is as hopeful as it is heartbreaking. Here are stories of sometimes unimaginable pain and loss, but also of how human beings nonetheless have the capacity to endure and even thrive. This book is not just an absorbing read. It also provides lessons that everyone needs to learn." (Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal)

"Illuminating, original, and deeply inspiring, Option B is one part riveting memoir, one part heal-your-heart boot camp, one part stories of others who learned to thrive in the face of profound loss: a practical, vital contribution to the literature on loss and resilience." (Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild)

"I recommend this inspiring book to everyone around the world. None of us can escape sadness, loss, or life's disappointments, so the best option is to find our Option B." (Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner)

"Narrator Elisa Donovan's palpable empathy adds to her authentic delivery of this profound and personal audio. With relaxed pacing and conversational phrasing, she makes the pathos and advice unfold with unfailing grace.... The heartfelt wisdom in this audio, along with Donovan's sensitive performance, make it a high-impact listen for people suffering from all manner of loss and trauma." ( AudioFile)

I couldn’t put my iPhone down!

I started listening to this audiobook the evening I downloaded it and found it so compelling that I had finished by the next evening.

This is an excellent book; informative and well-written. Sheryl's personal story of loss, interwoven with the stories of other survivors’ hardships and tragedies, combined well with Adam’s in-depth understanding of resilience literature. It makes for an absorbing read (or, in the case of an audiobook, an absorbing "listen").

Their book includes important facts and strategies, intermixed with thought-provoking quotes, humor, and deeply personal stories -- the latter of which thoroughly held my attention. These personal stories provide concrete evidence that resilience is not a fixed personality trait, that there is much we can do to promote our own post-traumatic growth. I am especially appreciative that the authors emphasized there is also much that friends, family members, worksites, and on-line communities can do to promote such growth.

Thanks also to the authors for highlighting the ongoing plight of refugees throughout the world and the resilience they must demonstrate simply to survive in truly horrendous circumstances.

This was far more than a self-help book describing strategies for promoting resilience; there are many such books available and some are excellent. Instead, I view this book as a spark, a catalyst leading to many more critical conversations and initiatives.

I will share that I am a Health Psychologist at a major teaching hospital where I have the privilege of working with individuals suffering from a variety of serious medical disorders, such as heart disease, COPD, dysphonia, and cancer. I also teach resilience strategies to fellow healthcare providers, with the goal of supporting their personal growth and, at a minimum, preventing professional burnout. I share none of this to feed my ego. Instead, I wish to convey that my work in this rapidly evolving field leads me to read stacks of technical articles, white papers and edited professional books on the topics discussed in this book. I also frequently read books written for a broader audience, specifically seeking out those I would add to my recommended reading list for my patients and fellow healthcare providers.

Option B will definitely be high on my list.

No clue what I was getting into which was great

I had no clue what I was getting into which was great. Here is a book which talks about what to do when you lose someone and what to do when you make mistakes combined with the larger lesson of what do do if option A disappears. Here Sheryl walks us through the loss of her husband and what she did to move on. As I listened to this book I remembered loosing many family members including my parents. When I lost my father first I was ready to move on because he hadn't been in my life for years. I did try to keep mum (his wife) in my life and active. She simply withdrew and went back to the Philippines. 12 yeas later she still hasn't recovered. When I lost my mother years later my other father active and get through this. 9 years later he's remarried and miserable. I found my way through all this loss and many more people by slowly following what is laid out here. I also came to the realization that you can use all of this knowledge in all your relationships including leaving spouses and dating partners. I recommend this book for anyone living to read if they lost someone or before. This includes relationships!

good read

the book seemed repetitive and could have been done in a shorter version. I am glad I read it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook.

This book was great, and fully illustrated what struggles we all go through and how we can all bounce back after a death of a loved one.

LEARN HOW TO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF OPTION B!

I had already read her book, "Lean In" and had attended a townhall regarding women helping women. When I heard about her husband passing suddenly I felt her sadness. I loved the way she used her OPTION B survival guide to help her with her loss.

Inspirational and having more depth

A book filled with inspiration that touches one’s heart. It has more depth than Lean In.

Must read

So beautifully written with honesty and I love how they backed up the statements with research & evidence. I marked many sections to write down or reread.

I found this book while in the first month of losing a sweet little four month old baby. Our family is devastated. Still in the middle of it now, I found the information in this book gave me glimpses of hope while shrouded in darkness.

I heard a voice saying words only a person that truly understands oils say.

Today, I am so very grateful for this book.

Captivating

An intriguing book that helps you build resilience through scientific methods and examples of people that have prevailed despite extreme hardship.
It helped me put things in perspective in my life and for that I am grateful

inspiring, beyond imagination.

I picked up this book not because I am facing any specifically major adversity in life... I picked it because I read Lean In, the author's other book. To my surprise, this book offered so much more than coping with loss in life. I listened to the audio book a bit everyday and was inspired by every bit of it. Thanks!

Amazing book on so many levels

This book is great for anyone going through tough life events or anyone trying to support someone going through tough life events.