Praise for Buoyant
From the very first page, I was instantly drawn in, starting with the shocking story of the act of betrayal that Gina Vild experienced. When people are hit with great loss or heartbreak, they often go in one of two directions: either they focus entirely on themselves, or their trauma makes them more empathetic, giving to and helping others in their times of grief. Gina is the very epitome of a ‘giver,’ and this exquisitely written book—filled with beautiful poems and uplifting stories that are infused with light and love, generosity and grace, compassion and kindness—is the ultimate gift to us all.
—Andrew Carroll, four-time New York Times bestselling author
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Gina Vild offers a roadmap for navigating not only the personal traumas and setbacks we all eventually face, but also the collective political and social tumult we are enduring in the current time. Here is practical guidance from Vild's own "cornucopia of hard-won wisdom." Each chapter is like a fitness class for strengthening not only our inner core, but the muscle of resilience that keeps us buoyant even in troubled times
—Judith Valente, author of The Italian Soul: How to Savor the Full Joys of Life; How to Be a Contemplative; How to Be; and How to Live
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Every now and then, a book comes along that offers one insight after another that stops you in your tracks and advice that makes so much sense, you can’t wait to try it. Buoyant by Gina Vild is that rare kind of book. Through a compelling combination of people’s stories, scientific findings, philosophy, and more, Vild shows us we can actively cultivate resilience rather than passively wait for it to emerge or decide we simply don’t have the capacity for it. Buoyant is proof positive we do! I highly recommend Buoyant to anyone who struggles with how to bounce back from difficult, even tragic, events, which is to say, everyone.
—Meta Wagner, author of What’s Your Creative Type?: Harnessing the Power of Your Artistic Personality
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Gina Vild gives us her life story and those of many others, filled with moments of turmoil and deep despair but ultimately able to emerge with lasting joy and recovered purpose. The book is clear, elegant, well-researched, and deeply affecting. She provides helpful “buoyancy boosters” for those critical moments in our life to make this a valuable primer for our troubled times.
—Peng Fan, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCLA; honored for excellence in teaching and humanism in medicine
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If you have ever experienced pain, loss, or adversity — and who has not? — this book is for you. Gina Vild's prose itself is buoyant in its simple eloquence. She seamlessly combines dramatic stories with concrete insights. This book will help you reorient the way you think about the setbacks we all face in this challenging trip commonly known as life.
—Greg Stone, author of the Ronan Mezini mystery series
A generous, story-driven guide to cultivating resilience that offers real-world tools for surviving what's difficult in your own 'wild and precious life.'
—Maryanne O'Hara, author of Little Matches: A Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark
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As a physician, I am trained to trust evidence. Buoyant earns that trust on every page. Gina draws on her own shattering losses that would have leveled most people and forges a framework for healing — one that speaks to anyone who has ever had to rebuild themselves from the ground up. I have witnessed resilience in my patients across decades of practice, but rarely have I seen it so beautifully mapped and made accessible.
Gina Vild has written a book that is an honest meditation on what it means to survive and then truly live. The stories told in Buoyant are bold, the science is sound, and her voice lucid. This book shatters the ceiling you have placed on your own resilience and dares you to reimagine what you are capable of surviving, and ultimately, of becoming.
—Yousif A-Rahim, MD, PhD, author of Smarter Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Will Make You Healthier
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In Buoyant, Gina Vild bridges the science of resilience with the art of living well. Grounded in research yet deeply human, this book offers a compassionate and evidence-based guide to navigating loss and rediscovering joy. Through personal stories, poetry, and practical exercises, Vild reminds us that even amid life’s chaos, we possess the capacity to endure and to rise, renew, and thrive.
—William Haseltine, PhD, scientist, philanthropist, and author of My Lifelong Fight Against Disease
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Gina Vild has penned a brilliant and luminous narrative on buoyancy. The wise and ancient Sufi mystic Rumi informed us that "the wound is where the light enters you." Embedded in this book are captivating stories that will stir your soul, and the exercises will lead those facing adversity to rebound with valor and grace. This is a timely and precious book that will resonate deeply with readers, many of whom will want to gift it to family and friends.
—Sanjiv Chopra, MD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and bestselling author including Leadership by Example
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Gina Vild masterly maps the terrain we all will face in meeting life's harshest descents with buoyancy as the uplifting, vital practice essential to live and lead in the urgency of now.
With the imagination of a poet and the investigative rigor of a scientific reporter, Gina guides us to discover buoyancy as the wellspring of resilience, to navigate and lead in all domains at home and in our workplaces. Through Gina and her buoyancy exemplars, we are inspired to learn how loss, grief, betrayal, and injustice are the alchemical fires for leading with bravery, compassion, healing, and purpose. Gina's aesthetic of finding beauty in the brokenness of our world, while offering a map of repair, is a consolation at a time when our shared humanity's resilience must be a leadership imperative.
—Ellen Wingard, Global Leadership Advisor and pioneer in executive coaching, Founder Collaborative Change Partners
Resilience in response to life’s inevitable challenges is a capacity we all too often need, but the path to achieving it is often hidden and always difficult. In Buoyant, Gina Vild vividly describes the strategies she and many others successfully employed to achieve resilience, and her elegant presentation makes Buoyant required reading for a large audience.
—Jeffrey S. Flier, former Dean, Harvard University's Faculty of Medicine
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Life can pull us under without warning. In Buoyant, Gina Vild gathers extraordinary stories of people who found their way back to the surface — and beyond.
Weaving together cutting-edge research and hard-won wisdom, she hands readers the life preserver that makes all the difference: the knowledge that we are not alone.
—Debbie Phillips, Leadership Coach, Executive Office of the President, Biden-Harris Administration, Founder, Women on Fire®
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In Buoyant, Gina Vild brings the clarity of a wise friend to life’s hardest moments. Blending riveting stories with science-backed practices, she reveals a path through the turbulence of our times and the challenges of our own lives. Relatable and clear-eyed, Buoyant shows you how to thrive even in the face of what cannot be fixed.
—Manju Sheth, MD, President, Women Who Win global media platform
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Gina Vild offers a compelling and inspirational take on some of life’s most important challenges, her thoughtfully researched strategies deftly presented with a storyteller’s voice and compassion.
—Rita Beamish, Associate Editor, National Parks Traveler
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This book is both profound and necessary for these turbulent times. Buoyant teaches us how to stay afloat when we're in life's dark currents, and how to resist the undertow of despair that threatens to pull us under. Gina Vild gives us a bright light to guide us in troubled waters.”
—Dr. Loren Michaels Harris, author, recording artist, and recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award
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In an era where social media has weaponized wellbeing diagnoses and flooded us with half-baked solutions and harsh judgments, Buoyant offers evidence-based knowledge and tools wrapped in genuine caring. Let the outside dumpster fire burn. Thanks to Gina Vild, you have a protective path unfolding across the pages of this book.