“Our interviewees have not been destroyed by their traumatic starts in life. They have survived and even thrived”.
The most comprehensive findings come from a 1955 study in Hawaii that followed hundreds of children over three decades. Two thirds of those that grew up in extreme poverty facing trauma and stress went on to drop out of school or develop mental health problems, while the remainder became “competent, confident and caring young adults”. This “lucky” third all shared similar traits: they believed fervently in their own autonomy and had the optimism and determination to throw themselves into life.
As a baby, Sir John Bell spent a year in hospital struggling to overcome polio. “It was a fairly tough time,” he told us. But the regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, who was at the heart of Britain’s vaccination programme, thinks it may have helped him and his contemporaries to cope with the unpredictability of life and become more successful. “If stuff comes at you, you just have to get on and do what is best,” he said.
So, this book isn’t pity porn or misery lit, it’s a manual for how to navigate setbacks in childhood. Its aim isn’t to convince children that they are suffering from generational trauma, but that with the help of adults, they may be able to break the cycle of anxiety and pessimism. Our families and circumstances may initially shape us, but they shouldn’t be allowed to limit us. An imperfect past can be overcome.
, Frodo Baggins is orphaned before he starts his quest. The protagonists of many children’s books can only discover themselves, or the world around them, if they are liberated from the normal structures of family life.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Downing Street accused of trying to ‘dilute’ Sue Gray’s Partygate reportSenior civil servants allegedly urged Gray to omit names and some details of Covid rule-breaking
Read more »
Downing Street accused of trying to ‘dilute’ Sue Gray’s Partygate reportSenior civil servants allegedly urged Gray to omit names and some details of Covid rule-breaking
Read more »
Many young Chinese choose graduate school over a grim job marketYoung Chinese are putting off the job hunt. At the end of last year a record 4.6m people sat the entrance exam for China’s graduate schools
Read more »
The new airlines betting flying is about to take offMany carriers went out of business during Covid but several seized a golden opportunity to launch.
Read more »
Monkeypox wasn’t created in a lab - and other claims debunkedConspiracies and memes shared during the Covid pandemic are cropping up again.
Read more »
Archbishop of Canterbury to miss Queen's Platinum Jubilee service after catching COVID and pneumoniaThe Archbishop of Canterbury will miss the Queen's Platinum Jubilee service because he has coronavirus and mild pneumonia.
Read more »