MDC’s Miami Book Fair (MBF) presented “An Evening with Sheryl Sandberg” in conversation with MDC alumna and syndicated columnist Ana Veciana-Suarez, at the Wolfson Campus. The event, which took place in collaboration with Books & Books and the Children’s Bereavement Center, was centered on the topic of resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks.
Sandberg, who grew up in North Miami, is one of the world’s top technology executives, best known for her role as Facebook’s chief operating officer and her New York Times bestseller, Lean In. Her newest book, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, which is co-authored with psychologist Adam Grant, includes emotional insight and eye-opening research on overcoming adversity and creating resilient families and communities. The book was inspired by Sandberg’s late husband, Dave Goldberg, the CEO of online survey development software company Survey Monkey, who died suddenly in 2015 at the age of 47.
“Grief, for anyone who’s experienced it, can be completely overwhelming,” Sandberg said at the event. “Resilience is the speed and strength in which we recover.” She and Veciana-Suarez also discussed the importance of destigmatizing grief and loss in our society.
“There’s a huge self-help section in every bookstore, but there’s no ‘help others’ section,” Sandberg said. “Too often all these hard things in our life are greeted with silence. It’s time to start taking the really ugly elephants in the room, start dealing with these hardships and be there for each other.”
The evening was one of many Miami Bok Fair year-round events giving members of the community an opportunity to meet world-renowned authors and participate in productive conversations on topics that affect people in South Florida and around the world.
“Miami Book Fair’s mission is to promote reading and writing, said Lissette Mendez, director of programs, Miami Book Fair. “But our hope is that we are also creating experiences that bring people together and foster empathy and a greater understanding of our shared humanity.”