On Why We Suffer and How We Heal | Dr. Suzan Song

You may know people who are seemingly unflappable. 

Steadfast. 

As if they’ve somehow been inoculated with antibodies to render them able to survive, strive, and even thrive through major life stressors and transitions. 

What’s different about these people? 

Are they born with resilient genes, or does culture play a role? 

Do they have certain outlooks or behaviors that make them able to manage life with grace and confidence?

If so, are these skills that everyone can learn?

Today’s guest, Stanford and Harvard trained psychiatrist, medical anthropologist, and humanitarian adviser, Dr. Suzan Song,

has been exploring these questions for decades. 

Working with people facing everything from everyday instability to profound human rights violations,

She’s witnessed first-hand the limits of routine Western approaches to adversity. 

And now, in her highly anticipated debut book, 

Why We Suffer and How We Heal, 

Suzan shows us that resilience isn’t inherited or taught in isolation—

it emerges from the stories we tell, the rituals we keep, and the connections we depend on. 

In today’s conversation we’ll unpack some of Dr. Song’s hard-earned wisdom, 

Her insights about what helps most to weather life’s storms, 

And the groundbreaking path she’s uncovered that can lead to deep healing, 

thriving in spite of challenges, 

and feeling fully alive again.  

Perhaps most importantly though, she reminds us that this path 

Is open to us all.

For more on Dr. Song’s extraordinary work, speaking, and her new book (which if you enjoy this conversation I can’t recommend highly enough) please visit Suzansong.com

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