Reflections on Resilience: What Stories of Adversity Teach Us About the Strength of the Human Spirit

This capstone project for the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at the University of Pennsylvania includes a prospectus for a book on paragons of resilience. For this proposed project the author will interview consensual paragons of resilience, and will then share their reflections on resilience in order to both illuminate the essence of this construct, and to encourage and inspire readers. This capstone paper provides an overview of the book’s proposed content, along with an annotated Table of Contents detailing the proposed structure for the book. A list of potential interviewees (i.e., paragons of resilience) is included, in addition to a sample interview request letter and thoughts about a strategy for the proposed book. These segments are followed by a presentation of the target audience, promotional plan, analysis of competitive works, format and timeline, and a report of the author’s experience. Finally, a sample introductory chapter for the proposed book is presented. This document also includes a sampling of sources from the research literature on resilience that will be referenced in the proposed book.