Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life

By Ben Sherwood

Book Overview

Discover how to become the kind of person who survives and thrives with this "must-read" New York Times bestseller that's filled with fascinating true stories and helpful advice (New York Times).
Each second of the day, someone in America faces a crisis, whether it's Covid-19, a car accident, violent crime, or financial trouble. Given the inevitability of adversity, we all wonder: Who beats the odds and who surrenders? How can I become the kind of person who bounces back?
The fascinating, hopeful answers to these questions are found in The Survivors Club. In the tradition of The Tipping Point and Freakonomics, this book reveals the hidden side of survival through: astonishing true storiesgripping scientific researchthe 5 Survivor Profilestop 12 Survivor ToolsThere is no escaping life's inevitable struggles. But The Survivors Club can give you an edge when adversity strikes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446698857
• ISBN13: 9780446698856
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Paramedic thoughts...

I have read so many survival books and none compare to this one. Most others read like an instruction manual with a very short opening chapter on positive attitude. Survivor Club however takes more of a scientific approach to survival. All the quizzes and experiments throughout make it personal. You learn a great deal about yourself. I am a paramedic and we are trained to remain calm and aware in any situation. However I showed this book to my colleagues and was surprised at how unaware even we can be at times. It also gave me great insight into human nature. It is nice to have an idea how the general public will react to emergencies and survival situations. I recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for survival. You will not be disappointed.

A life changing book recommended for any survivor

I am a survivor of a different sort, and I now advocate for other survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. This book had very little to do with these sorts of survivors, but at the same time had everything to do with the skills and traits every survivor must use to not only survive but thrive no matter what the situation. The point made by the author over and over again is that the people who most often survive are the people who CHOOSE to survive. Resilience is another factor that can determine which people survive and which people give up. If you are a survivor of any type of abuse, sexual assault, or domestic violence this book could be the most important book you will ever read.

Stay awake nights.... learing how to survive!

I heard the author being interviewed on a syndicated news talk show. After listening to the first few minutes of the interview, I was convinced I needed to purchase this book which I did, then I recommended the book to my book club. I have never felt compelled to contact an author but after reading this book I did. After locating Ben Sherwood's email address, I emailed asking if he would agree to a telephone interview/conference with our book club. Much to my surprise he graciously agreed! After reading the book, each book club member had a list of comments and questions. Mr. Sherwood spent over an hour answering our questions and provided more details about some of the survivors featured in the book. It was a fascinating experience. Each of us was enriched by this experience and as far as reading retention is concerned...? We will not soon forget the valuable lessons gleaned from reading this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the skills required to survive some of life's most challenging events. This book isn't focused solely on how to survive a plane crash or other catastrophic events, rather, it teaches how to survive ALL life's challenges large and small. It provides an interesting quiz to discover your strong personality traits or attributes and the ones that could use a little help in improving. Who among us wouldn't find this information useful? Who knows, perhaps it could save your life! Definitely worth purchasing, but please don't let this book simply gather dust on the book shelf, read it, learn from it and then pass it on to those you love.

Live Longer!

In America, life expectancy is 78.14 years. If you would like to live longer, read this compelling self-help book. It's loaded with detailed research material and anecdotal tips on surviving--what to do when: being impaled with a foreign object, finding yourself lost in the woods, experiencing an airplane crash, having a heart attack, or making a trip to the ER. Many topics are covered with proof that they help people live: the power of prayer, managing fear, the will to live, and having good genes. Adversity can work to make people appreciate life and have a better perspective. Daily joy can be experienced after a traumatic episode. Offered are such informative chapters as: The Survivor Profile, Your Survivor IQ, and Your Survivor Tool Kit. I suggest using this volume as a resource tool. Though it is interesting enough to be read straight through, I want to keep it around to refer to often.

Life lessons

Here's a club everyone wants to be a member of. It's probably human nature to wonder if you have what it takes to survive in a crisis. This thought-provoking book not only profiles dozens and dozens of people who have done just that, it also gives you a way to grade yourself on your likely survivorship, and tips on how to raise your score. You even learn which seats on an airplane are the safest (be near an exit, and forget about that window seat). The three rules of the Survivors Club, according to author Ben Sherwood, are that everyone is a survivor, one person's crisis can't be compared to another's, and people are stronger than they know. Attitude has a lot to do with it. If you see yourself as a survivor, you'll likely be one. You learn many of the reasons why people do not survive. One is called the Incredulity Response -- people simply don't believe what they are seeing. Two gripping stories bring this idea to life. In the first, a car-ferry sinking in the Baltic Sea, many victims didn't move or try to get out of the sinking ship, but were rather "frozen to the spot" looking like "marble statues, pale and immoveable." 852 passengers died. In the second story, a fire in London's Underground train station killed 31 people, with many commuters marching "right into the disaster, almost oblivious to the crush of people -- some actually in flames -- who were trying to escape." "Brainlock" is another reason some people in crisis die. They respond to the shock of the situation by forgetting to think. "Under stress... people often display memory problems. They seem to forget what they're supposed to do." This isn't good if you're skydiving. As Sherwood puts it, "panic is the archenemy of survival." The final section of the book is devoted to helping you understand your own survivor potential, with quizzes to take and a website to visit. Reading this book will make you think about how you live your life, and ways to ensure you can keep on living. It's fascinating. Here's the chapter list: Prologue: Brace for Impact Introduction: The Survivors Club Part 1: What It Takes to Survive 1. A Knitting Needle Through the Heart: The Three Rules of the Survivors Club 2. The Statues in the Storm: Why So Many People Die When They Shouldn't 3. Ninety Seconds to Save Your Life: The Wrong (and Right) Things to Do in a Plane Crash 4. The Organ Recital: Who Lives and Dies in the ER 5. The Supersonic Man: How Much of Life (and Death) Do You Really Control? 6. Rescued from the Lion's Jaws: Prayer, Miracles, and the Power of Faith 7. The Dancer and the Angel of Death: How Did Anyone Survive the Holocaust? 8. The Science of Luck: Why Good Things Always Happen to the Same People 9. Hug the Monster: How Fear Can Save Your Life 10. Too Mean to Die: Does the Will to Live Make Any Difference 11. The Resilience Gene: Who Bounces Back and Who Doesn't 12. What Does Not Kill Me: Why Adversity is Good for You Part 2: Are You a Survivor? 13. The Survivor Profiler: Discoverin