What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us

“All of his subjects, Mr. Mariani writes, found their lives broken sharply into a before and an after, and he tells their stories with sensitivity, insight and honesty.”—The Wall Street Journal

“There is so much wisdom packed into these pages, all delivered with Mike Mariani’s sparkling prose, keen observations, and deep empathy. What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us is a masterpiece . . . and a necessary salve for our troubled times.”—Ed Yong, author of An Immense World  

“Through intimate reportage, Mike Mariani offers a bold and intricate exploration of catastrophe as not just a transformative experience or a test case for resilience, but something that completely reinvents us: a reincarnation. A profound and rewarding read . . . brave and harrowing and wise and bursting with insight.”—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road

“If you listen closely, this book will ask you to reexamine everything you believe about incarceration, injury, tragedy, and joy—and to think harder about how we might all do better, as individuals and institutions, to support the thriving of every human life.”—Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams and The Recovering

“These stories are rarely told: neither triumphs nor terminal catastrophes but complicated, stubborn, moving human struggles to forge a new self. . . . This is nonfiction at its best, cracking open our usual ways of seeing, to reveal lives as they really are.”—Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning

“Mariani is a writer who combines the traits of intelligence, humility, and compassion, which makes this a truly inspiring book. Once you see how hard someone will work to give purpose to their life, your own problems seem much less insurmountable.”—Catherine Gildiner, author of Good Morning, Monster

“A must-read for anyone hungry for a realistic, nuanced exploration of what it means to survive and be transformed by trauma or catastrophe . . . Mariani and the lives he chronicles demonstrate that purpose and meaning don’t simply show up after a great loss; they are the products of grief, fortitude, and deep inner work.”—Christie Tate, author of Group

“The stories told here—and Mike Mariani’s fulsome journalistic gifts—offer a nuanced clarity to this language and a powerful reminder of how difficult, complicated, and wondrous it is to be alive.”—Jeff Hobbs, New York Times bestselling author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

“A strong message of hope in the face of life-altering trauma.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A heart-rending examination of surviving trauma . . . Mariani concludes with penetrating wisdom on the nature of suffering, positing that whether tragedies make someone stronger is less important than how they shape one’s identity.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)