Book Review: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, by Sheryl Sandberg an

BY: Sabrina Bowens
CATEGORY: Grief and Loss
PUBLICATION: About Grief

Cover-(1).jpg

After the sudden death of her husband in 2015, Sheryl Sandberg was faced with the task of moving on with her life without her beloved partner. The Facebook COO and author of Lean In catalogs her grief journey in her new book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

With the help of co-author Adam Grant, a psychologist and professor at the Wharton School, the book combines intensely honest narrative and professional insight to create a meaningful guide for those experiencing grief. In the book, Sandberg talks openly about grief as her demanding companion, infiltrating every aspect of her life. “I woke up each morning and went through the motions of my day, often in disbelief that the world continued on without him,” Sandberg writes. “How could everyone go on as if nothing was different? Didn’t they know?”


Focused around the idea that none of us can escape loss so we must find a so-called “option B,” the book explores the psychology of recovery, the challenges of regaining confidence and rediscovering joy. The book also includes insight and advice on ways to speak about loss and comfort friends who are suffering. 

The authors don’t pretend that hope will win out over pain each day, but rather tell us that even in the face of the most devastating loss, we can exert some control over its impact. The authors also remind readers that the capacity for the human spirit to persevere is stronger than we imagine. “In the wake of the most crushing blows,” Sandberg writes, “people can find greater strength and deeper meaning.” This book serves as a true gift to yourself or someone you love as a practical, comforting and insightful resource during the darkest of times.  

We Can Help

Speak with the referral team by contacting us seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Any first visit and admission can be made the first day.

Northern Ohio's Hospice of Choice

More than 1,000 Hospice of the Western Reserve employees and 3,000 volunteers live and work side-by-side in the same neighborhoods with our patients and families. We are privileged to have cared for more than 100,000 Northern Ohioans since our inception.