The Eric Hoffer Award for short prose and books was established at the start of the 21st century as a means of opening a door to writing of significant merit. It honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. The winning stories and essays are published in Best New Writing, and the book awards are covered in the US Review of Books.

You can see the award here!

My favorite part of the article is the beginning “Here is what you do after a massive tornado slashes the heart of your city, killing scores of citizens, wiping away landmarks of a lifetime.  You rethink everything.”  Willingness to rethink old ways of doing things is part of being resilient and these two cities are the epitome of resilience.  Read the entire article here.

Without a doubt, these women and men represent a resiliency in the face of systems and situations that could wear anyone down.

During this week as the nation salutes the nursing profession, we’d all be well served if we took a few lessons from these professionals.

Speaking to 300 Directors of Nursing (DONs) from LifeCare Centers of America, I listened to their passion and concern for their patients. They tackled operational challenges, laughed with abandon at the Medical Director’s expense, and cheered wildly for winners of service awards.

The Strengths:

• Passion for the work
• Concern and care for the “customer”
• Ability to laugh at themselves and each other
• Support and celebration for the team.

With our hospice nurses, I observed the same thing. Their sensitivity, compassion, and unfailing spirits were hallmarked by the exact same strengths.

Here’s the point: if passion for your work has died – find something to rekindle it somewhere.  If customers and team members fill you with disdain or indifference, find a place where you can truly care about these two groups.  And if the last laugh you had was watching your handsome brother slip on a banana peel in front of the Homecoming queen, you might consider a SERIOUS attitude implant.  Humor remains a critical resiliency skill. And in this week, all strong nurses have it in abundance.

In boardrooms and lecture halls, on the field and at home, strong female leaders are making a statement around the globe. In HOW GREAT WOMEN LEAD Bonnie St. John and her teenage daughter, Darcy Deane, explore the qualities that motivate some of the world’s most powerful women. Through engaging, out-of-the-spotlight interchanges, the authors discover commonly held values, behaviors, and attitudes, as well as the subtle, special skills inherent in female leaders.

From the ethics of Dr. Condoleeza Rice to the fortitude of Hillary Rodham Clinton to the enthusiasm of Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp and the discipline of Geena Davis, each woman in this book shares the exciting story of her rise to the top and the unique qualities it took to get there.

You can purchase the book here.

– Eileen McDargh

Here is what she wrote to me:

“Over the last 5 years I have had the pleasure to provide hope to so many people battling cancer.  Hope can take you anywhere.  When faced with a challenge, it’s all in how you look at it that will determine the outcome. Facing challenges head on can make such a difference. “

And then she signed her email this way:Remain victorious,

Christy

Hope. That’s precisely what is rebuilding the cities of Joplin, MO and Tuscaloosa, AL . One year ago, these towns were devastated when tornadoes ripped through, killing a total of 171 people. Read accounts now and you hear optimism, recovery, gratitude, and a chance to rebuild in smarter ways. Without hope none of this could be possible. I loved reading the words of Malachi Dubose, an 11 year-old who rode out the Alabama storm with his mother and five sibling as they huddled in a windowless bathroom. USA TODAY (April 30) stated that he spoke about life before, describing neighbors and garden and he also spoke about hope, “Out of despair and closed eyes, when the cameras left and the president flew away, without video games and television, out of tears and sleepless nights, and in the hands of my parents through faith in God…we are paving new streets.”

A cancer survivor and an 11 year-old from a tornado-ravaged town. Lessons surely for all of us.