That Sucked. Now What? : How to Embrace the Joy in Chaos and Find Magic in the Mess

The transformational speaker, master coach, and host of the Brave Table offers a practical five-stage framework for overcoming setbacks with grace and redefining tough moments to fly forward every time.

You know those awful, terrible, sucker-punch moments in life? The ones that knock you down, burn you up, or make you cringe so hard you wish it was all a bad dream? Probably—because we all do. These epic, messy, oh-no-oh-crap moments of chaos are just part of life—yet, as Dr. Neeta Bhushan shows us, they’re also beautiful opportunities for change.

As co-founder of the Global Grit Institute, a mental health training platform for leaders and coaches, and co-founder of Dharma Coaching Institute, training thousands to live their best lives, Neeta Bhushan has helped thousands of people move past their heartbreaks, failures, and disappointments. She has spent years researching human behavior and observing people in their worst and best moments, and from those experiences—as well as her own life—she knows what it takes to get back up no matter what bowled you over. By teaching readers to understand their individual Bounce Factors—how well they “bounce back” based on four core components of their life—and guiding them through the five stages to audacious, all-out resilience, Neeta shares exactly what it takes to overcome obstacles, surmount setbacks, and not just bounce back, but fly forward.

Combining her own experience with the stories of clients she’s worked with, Neeta will do for overcoming obstacles what James Clear did for habits by making personal growth clear, accessible, and doable for anyone. With five distinct stages—Falling, Igniting, Rising, Magnifying, and Thriving—her Fly Forward Framework is designed to help readers move toward change not just at one pivotal “moment of suck,” but over and over again, as often as they need to.

With her trademark warmth and wisdom, Neeta has created for readers a book to pull off their shelf whenever life serves them up a setback, large or small. Because while sucky moments are part of life, they’re also the key to growth. And when we can embrace that paradox with open arms, to acknowledge the pain while still moving forward from it—to say, “That sucked. Now what?”—we can live our lives with truly audacious resilience.