Do you want to know the steps you should take to recover and rebound from difficult life situations? Then you should definitely read this book. Option B shares the experience and life lessons of Sheryl Sandberg (COO, Facebook) during her adverse time after the sudden demise of her husband. Adam Grant’s valuable insights (Psychologist at Wharton) to recover from life-shattering experience make it a great self-help book.

Option B (Review)

For the people who think, with power and money one can face everything in life, this book will change their perspective. While reading, you can realize the struggles and hardships are equal among everyone, amplifying more notable personality in the society. I am so impressed with Sheryl’s mental resilience and her compassion to share her experience by taking insights of her friend Adam proves her as a person with a great leadership quality. The author focuses on three major things in this book, i.e., Facing Adversity, Building Mental Resilience, and Finding Joy.

In the first part on Facing Adversity, everyone can connect with this a lot in this time of the pandemic. Even with more equality for women, they are less likely to seek help from others than others. The author narrates her experience of seeing the emotions of women who are being victimized by domestic abuse. For generations, victims are being blamed rather than punishing abusers. This stereotype makes women self-blame for any challenges they face. It is beautiful to read how Sheryl helps young women to come out of this and develop self-love.

Even with great awareness, Sheryl gets into guilt and self-blame mode when adversity strikes her in life. Once she realizes it, she approaches Adam Grant for insights and shares that too. Many taught me about emotional intelligence in my lifetime, but I have never learned how to develop mental strength. On reading this book, I understood the first part of building resilience is accepting the existing reality. Even though it sounds simple, it is difficult to apply in a scenario where we are completely drained off and broken. Sheryl’s real-life scenarios, along with her children, enlightens us and reminds us of our responsibility to raise resilient kids.

The important part of finding the joy that we will not prioritize during our difficult times is to get rid of the challenges in front of us. Sheryl narrates her experience of finding joy as a widower. Also, to balance her position on Facebook as COO and in the family as a single mother. It has been strongly wired that women should not think about remarriage and dating someone after their husbands’ loss. Sheryl tries to get rid of those customs laid by society and find happiness in her life.

Overall, the book is a must-read for everyone to find their “Option B” when life does not go in the way we planned. In this time of the pandemic, almost everyone is facing a difficult situation like Sheryl with the loss of loved ones, career changes, and fewer meetings. I would recommend and firmly believe that this book will help us to remain self-motivated this time. You can get the book here! 📖

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