Whilst volunteering as a bereavement counsellor I read a lot of books on grief and people’s experiences on grief. This is probably one of the best books I have read on this subject, particularly for those readers who are currently going through the bereavement process.
Option B provides just enough research data for those looking at it from a clinical point of view without it overwhelming the wealth of personal experience providing in the book. The authors Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant have done a good job.
Sheryl Sandberg’s husband died suddenly whilst they were in Mexico celebrating a friend’s birthday. She felt like she was never going to stop feeling like her world had just ended. Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, helped her to overcome the worst of it with a few simple strategies. These strategies are shared in the book, along with a wide variety of experiences of different people experiencing hardships.
Option B is a book about building resilience and how it can be used to overcome different situations. Illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war.
Sheryl and her husband had met through mutual friends and were friends for more than six years before they got together.
Dave used to say that when he met me it was love at first sight, but he had to wait a long time for me to become ‘smart enough to ditch those losers’ and date him.
They had been married for eleven years when he died.
And so began the rest of my life. It was – and still is – a life I never would have chosen, a life I was completely unprepared for. The unimaginable. Sitting down with my son and daughter and telling them that their father had died. Hearing their screams joined by my own. The funeral speeches where people spoke of Dave in the past tense.
Everyone’s experience of grief and loss is different but this book provides some general suggestions for working through feelings which can be experienced after a bereavement or any other loss.
As Sandberg and Grant suggest, Option A is not available. So let’s just kick the shit out of option B.

Sheryl Sandberg is well-known as the COO of Facebook and the writer of "Lean In', a book aimed at getting women heard in the workplace. A couple of years ago Sandberg lost her husband leaving her bereft and a widow with two young children. In this book she looks at grief and how people can move forward after a bereavement - when normal actions are not possible then Option B has to happen.

Although this book is marketed as being about resilience and facing adversity, the very personal nature of what Sandberg has been through means that actually the vast majority of the book is about dealing with bereavement. There are sections on dealing with things such as prejudice but these are not played up as much as the rest. In this respect I found the book somewhat misleading - I was interesting in building resilience and facing setbacks but have not had to deal with a bereavement. The research is excellent and many of the examples given are interesting and useful but the week is very personal. Therefore this is more of an autobiographical self-help book with a dose of psychology, rather than a psychological self-help with some personal insight.

A very candid book which draws on the author's experiences following the unexpected death of her husband. This book recognises that it is very hard to go on after some experiences but how with self-compassion, honesty and making changes you can go on to have a new fulfilling life whilst still grieving the loss of your old life.

Fabulous read, a very brave lady, that I'm
Sure if you read her book it will give you ideas on how to cope when life keeps giving you a kick in the teeth

One of the best books on grieving, trauma and healing that I've ever come across. Within just a few pages I was trying not to cry as Sheryl shared the terrible story of her husband's sudden death and the painful aftermath of it.
It's a very readable and relatable book with lots of personal insight, research and practical advice - even, believe it or not, humour (she uses sarcasm to great effect in places!) - which anyone navigating a loss I'm sure will find helpful and of comfort. And if you haven't had to go through the something like that, you'll go and hug your loved ones after reading it and feel so, so grateful.

But, as Sheryl points out, life is full of inevitable sadnesses and setbacks. We'll all experience them at some point. The key is how we handle the loss of Option A, and how we move forward into Option B.

This book is a real tribute to human resilience. Recommended.

I really enjoyed both Lean In and Originals, the authors' previous books, and I knew that I would be interested in their next book as well. I am grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant's new book, Option B.

This book is unique in that it combines the personal story of Sheryl Sandberg losing her husband and how she and her family coped with this loss, along with research on how to develop resilience and strength in the face of grief and trauma and come out on the other side. I won't state clichés about how adversity makes you stronger, and neither does the book, but the personal anecdotes paired with research from studies on developing resilience helps you have hope, for yourself or for others in your life who are suffering.

In some ways it is helpful to see that even those who live a very different life from us are affected in the same ways by adversity. The advice and perspective in the book is extremely helpful no matter what you are struggling with, and I found myself wishing this book had been available sooner. The only drawback - the abrupt shifts from the personal story to research data was a little jarring at times, but overall, highly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It definitely touched a nerve and is full of useful information. Highly recommend!

There are some books which are more of a release for the writer than of significance to the readers and this is one of these. It might help readers who have suffered a traumatic loss but equally it might upset them. It is emotionally demanding to any reader, well written and broad in scope but of fairly limited appeal.

Sherly lost her husband suddenly. How would she cope? A friend pointed her in the direction of how to find strength through adversity. This is her story. Tender and caring, emotional and tear jerking. Can't praise it enough.

Option B
This book mainly concentrates on Sherry Sandbergs grief, her ways of coping and the help she received during the initial stages of her crippling grief, where I felt it worked and help me was the insight into how people should and can react and say meaningful things instead of the trite 'I'm sorry for your loss, or the great British answer to everything 'I'll just put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea' or just staying hopelessly on the sidelines afraid to make matters worse.
It shows grief is an extremely individual and personal emotion, 'stages' come and pass in no particular order or at no set times, and although there will eventually be light at the end of a dark tunnel some people meet it at a snails pace others that little bit sooner.
If I gained anything from this book it was much more insight into what to say and how to react and help a grieving person. She gives many examples of what was helpful to her and some cringe worthy examples of what didn't. The person who shouted out to her whilst passing on the opposite side of an escalator and near the bottom...'I'm sorry for your loss'....enough said!

I'm a huge fan of Sheryl Sandberg and found her book Lean In really inspirational. I still remember reading her first Facebook post after her husband Dave passed away suddenly in 2015. I could feel her pain radiating through and it affected me a lot more than I thought it would.

Sheryl is a fantastic writer and when I heard she was writing a new book, Option B, about building resilience in the face of adversity, I knew I had to read it. Last year my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was the absolute worst time of my life. Thankfully she recently finished her treatment and everything is looking positive - but thinking back to the time around her diagnosis, I can't believe we managed to cope. I struggle with anxiety anyway and the stress of that time - and finding out the cancer had already started to spread to her lymph nodes - meant I had to leave my job to be able to cope mentally, and to be with her during her surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

With work stress and a wedding coming up next month, unless a book grips me instantly then I've been struggling to get through it. Luckily this book did just that and I devoured it.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book but it had a lot more memoir elements than I was expecting. I was surprised at how much Sheryl shared about the time of her husband's death - how she found him and how she told their children. It was harrowing and I shed tears at several times.

The book is definitely practical and introduces countless real life stories of people that have come through adversity - whether losing a spouse, losing a child or being diagnosed with a serious illness. I'll be honest, at times this was a bit depressing and if you're someone who is easily affected by these sort of stories I'd recommend taking it slow. There were a few stories about people being diagnosed with breast cancer, some of who passed away from the disease, which was hard for me to read about.

I do appreciate this book's message and it is inspirational. Especially if you're going through a difficult time and are starting to lose hope that things will get better. Just bear in mind that it's low on actual actionable tips but high in real life stories that show you that you can come out of the other side stronger.