I wanted to read this because a friend recently told me that I am resilient, and I wanted to know more about the science, neuroscience and psychology behind resilience and life in general.

Raising Resilience: The Wisdom and Science of Happy Families and Thriving Children seemed like it would be a good read to me, and I wasn't wrong. I'm not a mother yet, but am engaged and in a relationship and kids are something my partner and I would love to have in the near future.

The book is split into 10 manageble chapters about generosity, ethics renunciation (the idea that "less is more") wisdom energy patience and mindfulness kindness and finding blance in the world and stress management. Although the book is aimed at parents with kids, there are also some life lessons that cam be used in general.

For example, "using bribery is only buying temporary change." It also touches on what I know to be true, that some people only give because they expect something in return. We are encouraged to give what we can and what feels right and that we can pass down our stories of our actions through the generations. Experiences are often better for a child's growth than objects.

We are encouraged, throughout the book, to pause and reflect through questions put to us by the author which either prompt us to analyse our own experiences of how we interact with children and what they learn/ observe through us.

The book impacted me and made me think about my own upbringing and parents' actions and reactions and analyse those. I have a nephew and this has given me a lot to think about regarding his development and perception of the world and how I as his aunt can intereact with him.

There's so much useful information in this book for both parents and people who want to be parents, but it is also a good general resource for anyone looking to be a better person in general and I rhink a lot of people could learn some important life lessons from it.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Christopher Willard and his publisher for an ARC via NetGalley.