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Bounce: Living the resilient life

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Living the Resilient LifeRobert J. Wicks’ Bounce: Living the Resilient Life takes a holistic approach to resilience, focusing on principles such as self-care, mindfulness, and compassion. The author, a doctor of psychology, has experience in working with relief workers and health care professionals treating veterans—individuals that often suffer from second-hand stress. The book is nevertheless generally useful, covering situations as common as financial woes and everyday stress. Bounce is a fast read, made even faster by an abundance of bulleted lists and self-diagnostic tools that should engage the reader long after the first reading.

Wicks emphasizes different means of self-care and renewal as solutions to managing acute and chronic stress. Self-care—basically anything one enjoys doing to relieve stress—is described by Wicks as a “necessary source of constant renewal,” rather than a luxury. Similarly:

  • a balanced circle of friends
  • an awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses
  • mindfulness

are proposed as indispensable precursors to resilience. Consequently, Wicks presents a different view of resilience from most clinicians. For him resilience encompasses self-awareness, compassion, and openness to life’s experiences in addition to the more traditional focus of dealing healthily with stress. His is a new yet accessible approach.

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