You are using an outdated browser.
For a better experience, please upgrade your browser here.

Follow us

Abuse & Sexual Assault

Surviving abuse and sexual assault

Abuse can inflict physical and emotional wounds. Shame and fear can lead to isolation and a lack of understanding. Here you’ll find stories from people who are dealing with these issues firsthand.

Abuse & Sexual Assault

Regaining Hope After Sexual Assault with Michelle Palmer

The executive director of the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing talks about how survivors of sexual assault have coped and regained hope after trauma.

Read conversation
Abuse & Sexual Assault

How to Support a Friend After Sexual Assault

Friends and family who want to be there for a loved one dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault sometimes don’t know what to say or do. The Joyful Heart Foundation helps survivors heal—and they shared these tips on how you can help a loved one cope with trauma with empathy and compassion.

Read advice
Abuse & Sexual Assault

How We Talk About Sexual Assault Online

Writer and activist Ione Wells says we need a better approach to use social media for social justice. After she was the victim of an assault in London, Wells published a letter to her attacker in a student newspaper that went viral and sparked the #NotGuilty campaign against sexual violence and victim-blaming. In this moving talk, she describes how sharing her personal story gave hope to others and delivers a powerful message against the culture of online shaming.

Watch video
Abuse & Sexual Assault

From Victim to Survivor: Regain Power and Create Change

Advocate and sexual abuse survivor Lauren Book encourages us to dig into our pain to regain power and create change.

Watch video
Abuse & Sexual Assault

The View From the Victim Room

After speaking out against her attacker, a survivor of domestic abuse discovers that joy can be found even in great distress.

Go to article

Lessons from the book

Listen to Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant share key findings from Option B about how you can build resilience.

The Importance of Resilience with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

Resilience is the strength and speed of our response to adversity. It’s a skillset we develop over the course of our lives, and there are concrete steps we can take to build resilience long before we face any kind of difficulty.

The Elephant in the Room: Talking About Loss and Hardship with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

We often have a hard time talking about adversity—but staying silent can make our loved ones feel even more isolated after loss or hardship. This video offers simple ways to speak with empathy and honesty when our friends are suffering.

Fight Permanence to Build Resillience with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

One way we build resilience is by fighting permanence, which is the belief that our grief or pain will last forever. Watch Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant explain how taking steps to remind ourselves that even the most painful feelings won’t always be so intense can help us find the strength to heal.

Self-Confidence and Self-Compassion with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

When you treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you’d show a friend, that’s self-compassion. When you believe in your abilities, that’s self-confidence. We can practice self-compassion and develop our self-confidence on a daily basis to build resilience.

How to Support Your Loved One with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule: treat others how you want to be treated. But the way you want to be treated when facing adversity may be completely different from how others want to be treated. To truly support your loved ones, use the Platinum Rule instead: treat others how they want to be treated.

Raising Resillient Kids with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant discuss how kids are often more resilient than we think. There are concrete things we can do to help them build that resilience, including making sure they know they aren’t facing adversity alone. They discuss the concept of mattering, which is knowing that others notice you, care about you, and rely on you.

How to Find Meaning After Loss or Trauma with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

After loss or trauma, we all hope to bounce back. Some of us manage to bounce forward. Learn how helping others gives our suffering meaning, allowing us to grow from the most difficult experiences of our lives.

Taking Back Joy After Loss or Trauma with Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

The guilt we feel after loss or trauma can prevent us from enjoying the things we love. But when we give ourselves permission to do what we love, we allow ourselves to reclaim joy in our lives.

Resilience is like a muscle.
We’re here to help you build it.

Join our community on Facebook

Start by telling us what you’re here for

1
2

Which of these is most relevant to the challenges you're facing?

Which of these is most relevant to the challenges they're facing?