Grief and Gratitude

Sri Lankan economist Sonali Deraniyagala lost her entire family to the 2004 tsunami. With grief specialist George Bonanno, she works out how her brain has been changed through her experience of coming to terms with her loss. A book signing for Dr. Deraniyagala’s Wave and Dr. Bonanno‘s The Other Side of Sadness will take place after the program.

About the Speakers

George A. Bonanno is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Chair of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College. His research focuses on how people cope with potentially traumatic events, such as the death of a loved one, terrorist attack, disaster and medical emergency. His studies have documented our natural resilience to these events and explored the factors that help us cope effectively; these include our repertoire of emotional reactions, especially positive emotion and laughter, personality, and the context of our lives. His book The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss came out in 2010. This is Dr. Bonnano’s second Brainwave. He was last on stage at the Rubin with Miranda July.