{"id":100,"date":"2013-08-20T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/5-questions-with-dr-norman-rosenthal-author-of-the-gift-of-adversity\/"},"modified":"2013-08-20T07:15:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T07:15:00","slug":"5-questions-with-dr-norman-rosenthal-author-of-the-gift-of-adversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/5-questions-with-dr-norman-rosenthal-author-of-the-gift-of-adversity\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions with Dr. Norman Rosenthal, Author of The Gift of Adversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\"The_Gift_of_Adversity<\/a>
When I got the email regarding Dr. Norman Rosenthal and his new book, The Gift of Adverstiy: The Unexpected Benefits of Life's Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections, I was intrigued by the title of the book and his story. Dr. Rosenthal's background, and his coming of age in the Apatheid<\/a> era of South Africa<\/a>, are powerful introductions to someone who has faced many depths of adversity. As I look back on my own journey I am convinced that adversity is a gift.<\/p>\n

I hope you'll be inspired by the following interview I had the pleasure of doing with Dr. Rosenthal:<\/p>\n

Your experiences are vast and diverse. What do you
\nwant the reader to walk away with after reading the book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I
\nwant the reader to come away with a sense of hope that although adversities are
\nunwanted and sometimes painful and even disabling, whether they are large or
\nsmall, there are often ways out of those dark places and, most important,
\nlessons to be gained from the journey. Those are the gifts of adversity.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s
\ndifferent about people who accept and work thru the gift of adversity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

People
\nwho are willing to accept reality are ahead of the game-as opposed to those
\nwho deny reality and resort to fantasy. They will assess their situation,
\nreach out for help and support, and find ways to overcome, and learn from,
\nadversity. The book offers many specific guidelines as to how to do so.<\/p>\n

In your book, you detail the challenges of growing up
\nin the Apartheid era<\/a> in South Africa. How did that shape your perspective on
\nseeing adversity as a gift?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apartheid
\nbrought with it a great deal of adversity, especially for the Blacks who
\nlabored most under its yoke. Adversity was everywhere in evidence, and I
\nspecifically deal with it, for example, by discussing the lives of the servants
\nwho worked for my family and the torture experienced by a cousin of mine. But the whites also suffered from the guilt of watching and often taking
\nno action.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

What
\nrole does arrogance play in a person\u2019s ability to consider or handle adversity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

An
\narrogant person takes on a position of superiority in relation to others. He is unlikely to learn from mistakes because he doesn't acknowledge his
\nmistakes. Humble people are more likely to learn and grow from adversity. In one chapter I discuss how it is important to learn something from
\neveryone.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who\u2019s
\ninspiring you right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My
\npatients always inspire me by the courage with which they embrace their
\nproblems and the creativity with which they work around them to live rich and
\ndiverse lives. Kind people inspire me. I see kindness every day,
\nand it warms my heart.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\"Norman<\/a>
In The
\nGift of Adversity <\/em>by Dr. Normal Rosenthal, the noted research psychiatrist
\nexplores how life's disappointments and difficulties provide us with the
\nlessons we need to become better, bigger, and more resilient human beings. The
\nbook is available for purchase on Amazon.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

About Dr. Norman Rosenthal<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\nThe New York
\nTimes-bestselling author of Transcendence:
\nHealing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation<\/em>, Winter Blues<\/em> and How to Beat Jet Lag<\/em>, Norman
\nE. Rosenthal<\/a>, M.D.<\/strong>, attended the University of the Witwatersrand in his
\nnative South Africa. He moved to the United States and was resident and chief
\nresident at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the New York Psychiatric Institute.
\nHe has conducted research at the National Institute of Mental Health for over
\ntwenty years. It was there that he first described and diagnosed Seasonal
\nAffective Disorder<\/a> (SAD). Dr. Rosenthal is a clinical professor of psychiatry
\nat Georgetown Medical School and has maintained a private practice in the
\nWashington, DC metropolitan area for the past thirty years. Rosenthal is the
\nauthor or co-author of over 200 professional articles and several popular
\nbooks, including Winter Blues, the classic work on SAD. He currently serves as
\nmedical director and CEO of Capital Clinical Research Associates in Rockville,
\nMaryland, where he directs clinical trials in both pharmaceuticals and
\ncomplementary and alternative medicine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nRelated articles<\/legend>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>How to Manage Your Health Simply<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>The Legacy Cliff: A Guest Post by Dr. Andrew Thorn<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/fieldset>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I got the email regarding Dr. Norman Rosenthal and his new book, The Gift of Adversity: The Unexpected Benefits of Life’s Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections, I was intrigued…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,54,29,7],"tags":[121,34,30,62,117,119,120,40,118,17,42],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-life-perspectives","category-news-and-updates","category-wellbeing","tag-apartheid","tag-authors","tag-books-2","tag-inspiration","tag-norman-rosenthal","tag-self-help","tag-south-africa","tag-struggles","tag-the-gift-of-adversity","tag-wellbeing-2","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epicliving.com\/epic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}