Anatomy of a Survivor

Anatomy of a Survivor examines in inspiring detail how survivors used their inner strengths to build resilience, navigate through, and ultimately grow from traumas and major life challenges.

In 1990, after a sudden cardiac event, Joyce Mikal-Flynn was dead for twenty-two minutes. While CPR and determined doctors returned her to life, she came to find that this new life wasn't her life at all. Faced with depression, personal and professional setbacks, she ultimately recognized that this was not an end point--but a beginning. Over time, she understood that taking control begins with the essential choice to move forward. Her struggles fueled her. You got this, she told herself with every obstacle, failure, and misstep.

Trauma and crisis are inescapable aspects of life. Framed, at times, as something to get over, trauma never fully leaves those who experience it. For over two decades, Dr. Mikal-Flynn has worked with and studied issues faced by survivors. She understands and recognizes their desire to move forward, identifying specific mindsets and behaviors that encourage progress. Making the choice to move forward, fierce determination, and well-researched actions are key for survival and growth.

Interlacing stories with research on genetics, posttraumatic growth, and the neuroscience of resilience and happiness, this book outlines how survivors of trauma structure a positive and productive response. An ingenious strengths-based rehabilitation system--metahabilitation--engages them by uncovering and developing their resilience, grit, and capacity for growth after trauma. This book shows you how survivors are built and presents a unique system guiding them forward.
About the Author: Dr. Mikal-Flynn received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of San Francisco, a Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of California, Davis, and her Master's of Science in Nursing at Sacramento State University, publishing the thesis: "A Phenomenological Investigation of Near-Death Event Survivors." She completed her Doctor of Education with a dissertation entitled: "Transforming Life Crisis: Stories of Metahabilitation After Catastrophic Life Events."

A marathoner and triathlete, in 1990 she survived a sudden-death event requiring twenty-two minutes of CPR to return to life. Already a nurse practitioner and dismayed at the focus of her recovery and what was presented in the aftermath of her trauma, her mind emphasized the negative, painting a bleak future. However, her master's and doctoral research focused on posttraumatic growth (PTG) and she created a strength-based clinical pathway guiding survivors toward a productive recovery and PTG. Her first book was Turning Tragedy Into Triumph: Metahabilitation: A Contemporary Model of Rehabilitation, which profiled survivors and detailed a pathway toward PTG. Her work and research continue involving how trauma affects families and communities and recognizing how they experience PTG. A Professor at CSUS, she speaks nationally and internationally on trauma, focusing on resilience and PTG. With multiple publications, her work and research continue to provide strength and hope for those who suffer in the aftermath of trauma.