Check out this brand new book!
Thriving Through It–How They Do It–
What It Takes to Transform Trauma into Triumph
Author: Joyce Ann Tepley
Publication Date: April 2014
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An Easy Read On Super-Secrets for Success
By Sunny Roller
Written by polio survivor and clinical social worker, Joyce Tepley, this book was written to discuss thriving—what it takes to embrace and overcome issues that that turn our lives upside down—at least for a while.
Journeying through the 149 pages, the reader meets 20 real-world people who have experienced physical disability and flourished. Five are polio survivors. When Tepley personally interviewed them, she asked them 16 questions about who they are and what they think made their lives so positive and productive. Their answers are fascinating. Some said that it was the disability itself that led to their success– it gave them a sense of purpose. Others revealed that it was their personality traits, individual beliefs, and social support.
The author accomplishes her goal. After describing each person, she reveals their super-secrets for success. She also analyzes and supports 
what they say with well-established psychological theories from several of the professional greats, including Bandura and Erickson.
Tepley is uniquely well-qualified to write this book because she has a post-polio disability herself and is a trained counselor. She actually is the twenty-first person who tells her story of thriving in this book. She writes about growing up and struggling with shame about her teenage body image, graduating with honors and still feeling inadequate, then in the midst of a successful career, meeting her loving husband. She relates that now, as she is growing older with a disability from polio, she has become more accepting of herself and what life is all about.
Thriving Through It is well-written. It’s easy to read, down to earth, and useful. Its style is amiable, erudite and humble at the same time—just like Joyce, herself. As she reveals some critically important philosophies about life, Tepley is fun to read because she’s a friendly teacher, not a puffy preacher.
I really enjoyed this publication because I was led to take a personal interest in the people who told their stories. Not just because they had interesting accounts to share about life with a disability, but because they went on to reveal how they did so well. That’s the most helpful part of the book. What Tepley teaches us about thriving and how to do it is useful information that can be put to work in our own lives, right here and right now. It’s an idea book on living well and what it takes.
I especially liked Tepley’s last two sentences: “There is so much to learn and be thankful for. May you be a blessing.” Why those sentences? Because, for me, they sum up my overall feeling about the entire book. Tepley wrote it lovingly. I could discern from her words and approach from the start of her research (“wondering and wandering” to find important answers) that she genuinely cares about those she interviewed and wants the very best for her reader. That is her abiding blessing to her audience.
To purchase a copy of Thriving Through It, look for it in your local bookstore, or go to Books