Sheryl Sandberg launches non-profit Option B to help people face adversity

SAN FRANCISCO — Sheryl Sandberg, who urged women to lean in, is launching a new campaign: Helping people bounce back from adversity.

Thursday, Facebook's chief operating officer and author of the new book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, announced a non-profit focused on finding resilience in the face of grief or other forms of personal misfortune and adversity.

Shortly after her husband Dave Goldberg died suddenly from a heart condition, Sandberg was talking to a friend, Phil Deutch, who proposed having another dad fill in at a father-child event at her kids' school. "I want Dave," she protested, weeping. "I want option A." Deutch put his arm around her and said: "Option A is not available. So let's just kick the s— out of option B."

The book is a collaboration with friend and psychologist Adam Grant, and the non-profit will be run under the umbrella of the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation.

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As with her first book, Lean In — which blossomed into a movement of women vying for career advancement and leadership roles — the goal for Option B is not just to change the way we cope with adversity but to change the way we talk about it.

As she fought her way through grief, Sandberg says she learned resilience can be built over time, much like a muscle, helping people emerge stronger and find happiness again.

"We’re not born with a fixed amount of resilience," she wrote in a Facebook post.

A website will guide people looking for resources on everything from grief and loss to hate and violence and will offer community support. It also features tales from survivors of adversity such as NFL star Vernon Turner, who came back from trauma and drug abuse, and gives people a chance to share their own stories. Facebook groups are organized by shared challenges.

"Because no one’s life is perfect, we all live some form of Option B," Sandberg wrote. "This community is here to help you make the most of it."