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This most recent book by Norman Rosenthal is an uneven mixture of his own experiences and those of his patients and friends, mixed with lessons he has learned from these experiences. The experiences and lessons are (somewhat loosely) connected to the title - the benefits of adversity. What redeems “adversity” are some of the touching and compelling stories Rosenthal tells about real people from his youth and from some of his patients. Each of the 52 fairly short chapters ends with a short statement of the lesson to be learned.
Rosenthal is a successful psychiatrist best known for his pioneering research on seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and the treatment of SAD with bright lights (Rosenthal et al., 1984; Rosenthal, 2013). The current book does demonstrate flashes of insight and wisdom. For instance, Rosenthal shows real insight and compassion in his description of an elderly woman who taught him in school and how she coped with her incredible loneliness (Chapter 10). His account of his father giving opposite but wise and helpful advice to two different people caught in marital infidelity is also nuanced and interesting (Chapter 13). Most of the experiences he describes, particularly his childhood and early medical practice in South Africa, are interesting and educational in their own right. But the lessons learned are mostly generalizations, which are apt to be as unhelpful or even harmful to some as they may be helpful to others. Clichés abound: in Chapter 17, we learn that collaboration is helpful; in Chapter 19 that life is precious; in Chapter 20 that every day is precious and in Chapter 23 that one must face one's fears.
While such clichés will not benefit anyone, they are, in the end, harmless. But a few of the lessons imparted actually constitute bad advice. For example, the lesson of Chapter one is that “most things don't have to be perfect” (p. 5)