Life as a university of adversity

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In his new book The Gift of Adversity: The Unexpected Benefits of Life’s Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections, Norman Rosenthal, M.D., shares his belief that adversity is by far the best teacher most of us will ever encounter. To make his point, he draws on case studies, his upbringing in apartheid South Africa, and the experiences of his heroes—among them: a beloved uncle, his own mother, and Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.

Dan Gottlieb and Dr. Rosenthal discuss the experience of adversity as a basis of beneficial lifelong lessons.

Norman Rosenthal is known for his breakthrough research on seasonal affective disorder (SAD). He is a veteran researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health. His book Transcendence: Healing and Transformation Through Transcendental Meditation was a New York Times bestseller.


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Below: Dan Gottlieb in Zululand, South Africa visiting the Khulani Special School (August 2013). Dan spoke to the children about adversity and perseverance. His words were translated into Zulu.

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