Cover art for Supernormal
Published
Canongate, February 2017
ISBN
9781786892997
Format
Softcover, 400 pages
Dimensions
23.5cm × 15cm × 3cm

Supernormal Childhood Adversity and the Untold Story of Resilience

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In this seminal new study of resilience, Meg Jay tells the stories of a diverse group of people who have overcome trauma in their childhoods to go on and live successful lives as adults. These are the 'supernormal', who having shouldered greater than average hardship as children defy expectation and achieve better than average success as adults. But how, and at what cost?

Whether it was experiencing parental divorce, or growing up with an alcohol or drug-abusing parent, living with a parent or sibling with mental illness, being bullied, living in poverty, being a witness to domestic violence, suffering physical or emotional neglect, the people Meg Jay introduces us to are all survivors. She explores what they have in common that made it possible for them to transcend the trauma of their early years and to build successful adult lives. And she asks the questions: What was the cost of developing those powers? And having survived, even thrived, how do you go on and build a trusting, fulfilled life?

Drawing on her clinical experience with survivors of childhood trauma, Meg Jay documents ordinary people made extraordinary by the experience of all-too-common trauma. Bringing together personal, scientific and cultural knowledge Jay gives a voice to the experience of the 'supernormal', furnishes them with the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths, and gives a window into their world for those who seek to understand them.

Recommended by Marijke Mcdonald

Marijke is the Customer Service Supervisor at Boffins and has been a Boffin for over five years, and a bird fanatic for even longer. She reads anything interesting.

Normality is something we all struggle with – Meg Jay interviews 16 people who have undergone traumatic events in their childhood and developed skills to continue with their lives.

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