Over the course of ten years, this extensive qualitative study focused on the academic resilience phenomenon. The research delves into the educational resilience experiences of fifty low socioeconomic students of color from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. In addition to chronicling specific protective factors and processes active in the students' lives, several symbiotic relationships between groups of protective factors are documented and explored. A Resilience Cycle theory, which was chronicled in previous works of the authors, is used as a framework to view essential elements of the students' academic success. Ultimately, the data and findings are used to propose practical suggestions for promoting academic resilience in at-risk youth nationwide. Furthermore, because one author specializes in education and the other in psychology, both of these disciplines are brought to bear on this crucial and understudied topic.

No matter who we are, what we have, or where we are from, sooner or later life provides each of us with at least our fair share of trauma, tragedies, setbacks and curveballs. Like death, taxes, and increasingly wrinkly skin, these challenges will eventually rear their ugly heads- it is inevitable. However, the degree to which we succumb to them, if at all, is to a surprisingly large extent up to us. Minimizing the extent to which misfortune and tragedy eat away at the quality of our lives is equal parts art and science, and the essence of How to be a Rubber Band: A Formula for Living Resilience Every Day. Resulting from thorough analysis of hundreds of individuals who have demonstrated varying degrees of resilience, a widely applicable resilience formula has emerged. This formula can serve as a blueprint, allowing us to build the necessary elasticity into our interactions with stressors, facilitating our ability to stretch and eventually bounce back, while still retaining key elements of who we are deep down inside. Each variable is explored within the context of compelling social science and medical research, and specific suggestions for application provided. The book is for you if you are willing to: Make successfully responding to stressors, both big and small, part of your daily existence. Cultivate a degree of competence and confidence in your ability to effectively handle life's inevitable challenges; significantly mitigating fear of failure, unexpected setbacks, and tragedy. Utilize interactive "Making it Work for You" sections to apply proven tenets of resilience to your unique situations. Arm yourself with the knowledge, attitudes, and dispositions we all need to survive and thrive in the face of trauma. The book invites the reader to visit the author's website, www.livingresilience101.com for additional and complementary material.

Over the course of ten years, this extensive qualitative study focused on the academic resilience phenomenon. The research delves into the educational resilience experiences of fifty low socioeconomic students of color from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. In addition to chronicling specific protective factors and processes active in the students' lives, several symbiotic relationships between groups of protective factors are documented and explored. A Resilience Cycle theory, which was chronicled in previous works of the authors, is used as a framework to view essential elements of the students' academic success. Ultimately, the data and findings are used to propose practical suggestions for promoting academic resilience in at-risk youth nationwide. Furthermore, because one author specializes in education and the other in psychology, both of these disciplines are brought to bear on this crucial and understudied topic.