Leverage: The Science of Turning Setbacks into Springboards

When victory is our only goal, we miss out on life's richest rewards. But what about triumphing over trauma? Isn't that a worthy goal? The answer, of course, is yes. And yet too often we rush to put our difficulties behind us, thinking this allows us to get on with our lives and marks us as resilient. What if the best way forward is not to skip to the end but to struggle for as long as necessary?

Licensed marriage and family therapist Claire Nana, LMFT, is passionate about the remarkable concept of posttraumatic growth. Having endured the murder of her father and incarceration of her mother, she learned firsthand how battling adversity head-on forces you to look for joy in unexpected places and uncover strengths you weren't aware you had. By paying attention to the journey, for better or worse, rather than focusing solely on the finish line, you open yourself to opportunities and discover personal depths you would've otherwise missed.

Cultivating happiness is a process. Reading Leverage will remind you that sometimes the long way produces the most lasting results-and that you can only reach tomorrow's triumph by being present for today's trouble.

Author of the popular blog Leveraging Adversity on Psych Central, Claire Nana, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over twelve years of experience specializing in trauma, addictions, and posttraumatic growth. After surviving her own horrific ordeal-the murder of her father, incarceration of her mother, and later being accused of murdering her own father by her mother’s attorney-she chose to make the best of the life she had left. Since then, Nana has run thirty-nine marathons, three fifty-mile races, and nine one-hundred-mile races to honor her father. She has also written over fifteen continuing education courses for the Zur Institute and International Sports Science Association on the topics of therapy and running. And with the insight of positive psychology, she has helped numerous individuals and families realize that growth can result from trauma.