The Power Of Suffering by David Roland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has become one of the most important books I have read in recent times.
It is vital to educate ourselves on concepts we passively feel exist but don’t have any proof they do outside of their mind. The concept of Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) was an example of this for me personally. I had always felt and understood that it was possible for people to grow and evolve through whatever trials they had overcome in their lives but the concept of PTG gave a name to this evolution, and an understanding to the mechanism by which it can occur.
David Roland does an excellent job highlighting the stories of people who have experienced deep levels of suffering with regards to their health, children or otherwise. These stories alone were powerful enough to put anything the average reader might be going through into perspective.
However what Roland did masterfully was to weave the narrative of his own journey through understanding suffering and PTG throughout his experience listening to the stories of those he met. It felt as though I as the reader was a fly on the wall in the same room, and at multiple times I almost felt personally connected to some of the stories.
Ultimately, I highly recommend this book to all so that we can understand how and why some people grow through their suffering and why. Suffering is something all human beings will experience at some point, it is important to be able to understand such a journey and how best to navigate its stormy seas.