For the past twenty years, pioneering psychologist Stephen Joseph has worked with survivors of trauma. His studies have yielded a startling discovery: that a wide range of traumatic events--from illness, divorce, separation, assault, and bereavement to accidents, natural disasters, and terrorism--can act as catalysts for positive change. Boldly challenging the conventional wisdom about trauma and its aftermath, Joseph demonstrates that rather than ruining one's life, a traumatic event can actually improve it. Drawing on the wisdom of ancient philosophers, the insights of evolutionary biologists, and the optimism of positive psychologists, What Doesn't Kill Usreveals how all of us can navigate change and adversity-- traumatic or otherwise--to find new meaning, purpose, and direction in life.