Kirkus Review: An emotionally resonant work on a powerful concept.

Read the full review here.

Hanley-Dafoe, a behavioral educator, offers an encouraging book about finding and sustaining hope.

“Hope is the crucial thread weaving through all aspects of a fulfilling life,” the author asserts in a work that aims to lift its readers’ spirits. The author views hope as a life practice—one that can increase resilience, foster optimism, and be easily accessed through such exercises as visualization. The book traces the concept of hope throughout history, from the works of ancient Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, to American thinkers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. Another chapter explores the personal and societal costs of hopelessness, including the erosion of motivation, health, and connection. Using the characters Samwise and Frodo from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy as examples, Hanley-Dafoe explains how hope is often transmitted between individuals and need not originate from within oneself. The author then introduces her framework for cultivating resiliency, which rests on five pillars: belonging, perspective, acceptance, humor, and, of course, hope. She also describes how hope interacts with eight domains of wellness as part of her “stressing wisely model.” In her “hope blocks model,” readers learn to build hope by visiting safe havens and pursuing healthy habits, purposeful work, and self-awareness. Journal prompts and worksheets help readers map all these elements. The final chapters encourage readers to reach out to others and adopt the author’s “hope manifesto.” Hanley-Dafoe seamlessly combines research, positive psychology, and personal accounts to make an abstract concept feel tangible. The singular focus on hope for nearly 300 pages unavoidably results in some repetition across sections. However, the book offers a number of uncommon engagement suggestions, such as creating a personal “hope timeline” that documents hope across one’s lifespan. She also shares her own profound struggles with hopelessness, including her institutionalization as a teenager. Throughout, she emphasizes hope’s universality, noting that it “transcends time, culture, and circumstance, inviting us to envision a brighter future.” A wide variety of references, from Albert Camus to R.E.M. and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, demonstrate her ideas.

An emotionally resonant work on a powerful concept.