Some people find the resilience to overcome adversity and suffering while others are overwhelmed and despair. Anne Deveson wanted to understand better why, and how, individuals and communities develop resilience.

Anne’s long career as journalist, documentary-maker and social-justice activist offered rich insights into the stories of the many spirited people and groups she has encountered in spheres such as disaster aid, war, mental illness, family breakdown and human rights. From her own life experience, she draws on vivid personal memoir (often refreshingly candid, such as the surprise of falling in love at nearly seventy, only to lose her soul-mate to cancer, which happened during the course of writing the book). In addition, Anne marshals information and recent research that has shed new light on her own understanding of resilience.

Her exploration is an engaging intellectual and personal journey, bringing together factual research, memoir and reflection, with wisdom and gritty humour. It will be an inspiration to all victims of life’s ‘slings and arrows’, as well as to those hoping to nurture in the young, or in their community, the resilience demanded by times of relentless change and growing insecurity.