The Orchid and the Dandelion : Why Sensitive People Struggle and How All Can Thrive

Why do some people succeed and others struggle? Why are some people's lives filled with satisfaction and happiness and others with frustration and despair? Why do some people die young, while others live into healthy old age? Is it simply chance and luck, or are there early patterns of development revealing potentially determinative pathways into bounty or calamity?

In The Orchid and the Dandelion, Dr W. Thomas Boyce - one of the world's foremost researchers in the field of paediatric health - presents findings that children have two very different responses to their environments. While some children are like dandelions and can thrive in almost any environment, there are others who, like orchids, are much more reactive and susceptible to their surroundings. Now we finally have a scientific framework to understand people, know how to address their unique needs and help them find their fullest potential.

This groundbreaking book draws on extensive research, examples and real stories that will re-frame how we think about orchid and dandelion children and the adults those children have become.

About the Author

Dr W. Thomas Boyce is professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and heads the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. He is also co-director of the Child and Brain Development Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

Dr Boyce’s research addresses the interplay among neurobiological and psychosocial factors leading to differences in childhood health and disease. He frequently gives talks on his groundbreaking work. He is the parent of two wonderful adult children, one orchid and one dandelion. He is also an avid sailor who likes to tie sailing knots and untie scientific ones

Dimensions (cm): 19.5 x 13  x 2