The Power to Heal®
Soaringwords’ mission is to inspire children, families, adults, seniors, and health care professionals to take active roles in self-healing to experience greater physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
This accessible, user-friendly platform benefits people at the most vulnerable times in their lives when they are grappling with a wide range of challenges such as illness, trauma, grief, and the implications of living through a global pandemic.
Soaringwords collaborates with municipalities, health and human service agencies, community organizations, and companies to create substantive change.
Accenture Global Partner Meeting
No other organization has amassed such an extensive lineup of leaders in the field of Positive Psychology in one comprehensive initiative.
Our goal is impact – the greatest impact possible. To that end, we have developed a number of powerful programs based on our SOARING into Strength Model which has been presented at 16 scientific conferences around the world.
Since 2000, Soaringwords’ interventions have been shared with more than 500,000 people. The SOARING into Strength Positive Health Initiative includes 23 virtual workshops led by Soaringwords’ CEO & Founder Lisa Buksbaum, integrating the latest science from leading Positive Psychology experts who are featured in each session.
22
years
196
hospital collaborations
500K
people inspired... and growing!
How Soaringwords was Born
After three life-changing encounters with death and illness occurred in Soaringwords’ CEO & Founder’s family in the span of ten months, Lisa Honig Buksbaum knew that she had to do something to help millions of ill children, families, and adults to “Never give up!”
One day while walking along the ocean during the height of her son’s catastrophic illness, she had a calling and heard the name “Soaringwords.”
Suddenly, she knew why she was born and was determined to create an organization to provide healing tools that could bolster the physical, emotional, and mental well-being for people facing challenges.
Soaringwords is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization
Check out the four focus areas:
Testimonials
SOARING into Strength: Silicon Valley Year-Long Initiative was launched in Silicon Valley in October 2020. Over the course of one year, 23 virtual workshops were shared with hundreds of participants. This is what participants had to say about the workshops.
Jersey City was the launch city for the World Economic Forum Healthy Cities Initiative. Soaringwords workshops were the mental health component. This is what Jersey City Health & Human Services Staff had to say about the workshops
Linda Ivory-Green, Director, Jersey City Division of Community Health and Wellness
My staff as health educators were able to build their capacity to engage the community on a more intimate level, more efficiently and effectively, while learning communication skills. They were better able to have self-confidence in going out and educating the community on all the various health issues Soaringwords workshops took the staff to a whole different level with self-confidence, building trust amongst themselves and within the groups.
Paul Bellan-Boyer, Director, Jersey City Division of Injury Prevention
We needed to work better as a team, to understand each other, communicate, and trust each other’s experience. We didn’t know that the Soaringwords trainings also would be a lot of fun. And we didn’t know that it was preparing us to respond to a mass shooting and that we were developing skills for a pandemic that would demand new levels of commitment, at the same time we needed new ways of working together to serve the residents of our beloved city.
Stacey Flanagan, Director, Jersey City Health and Human Services
In 2019, the city of Jersey City was selected as a pilot city for the World Economic Forum’s health cities and communities 2030 campaign. … We invited Soaringwords to be one of our partners in the effort so that we could continue to work on mental health together. Making sure that our staff really understands diversity and has a heightened level of cultural sensitivity, understanding, and competency is really at the forefront of our work around health... Read more
SOARING into Strength: Jersey City Health & Human Services leadership testimonials, ,
SOARING into Strength: Silicon Valley Year-Long Initiative, ,
SOARING into Strength: Silicon Valley Year-Long Initiative was launched in Silicon Valley in October 2020. Over the course of one year, 23 virtual workshops were shared with hundreds of participants. This is what participants had to say about the workshops.
SOARING into Strength: Jersey City Health & Human Services employee testimonials, ,
Jersey City was the launch city for the World Economic Forum Healthy Cities Initiative. Soaringwords workshops were the mental health component. This is what Jersey City Health & Human Services Staff had to say about the workshops
Linda Ivory-Green, Director, Jersey City Division of Community Health and Wellness
My staff as health educators were able to build their capacity to engage the community on a more intimate level, more efficiently and effectively, while learning communication skills. They were better able to have self-confidence in going out and educating the community on all the various health issues Soaringwords workshops took the staff to a whole different level with self-confidence, building trust amongst themselves and within the groups.
Paul Bellan-Boyer, Director, Jersey City Division of Injury Prevention
We needed to work better as a team, to understand each other, communicate, and trust each other’s experience. We didn’t know that the Soaringwords trainings also would be a lot of fun. And we didn’t know that it was preparing us to respond to a mass shooting and that we were developing skills for a pandemic that would demand new levels of commitment, at the same time we needed new ways of working together to serve the residents of our beloved city.
Stacey Flanagan, Director, Jersey City Health and Human Services
In 2019, the city of Jersey City was selected as a pilot city for the World Economic Forum’s health cities and communities 2030 campaign. … We invited Soaringwords to be one of our partners in the effort so that we could continue to work on mental health together. Making sure that our staff really understands diversity and has a heightened level of cultural sensitivity, understanding, and competency is really at the forefront of our work around health equity and social determinants. … We really embarked on a wonderful journey with Soaringwords, and our staff has really learned a lot about themselves and how they are part of the bigger concerning issue in the community. And, unless they are helping themselves, they are not able to help others, and so really doing some internal work with our leadership team so that they can be stronger.
SOARING into Strength:
The Book
The Book
Since she was a child, Lisa wanted to help. Whether it was rescuing a blind duck at a park or defending her younger brother against bullying when he experienced severe asthma attacks—Lisa always found herself in the role of a helper during times of crisis.
As an adult, a phone call at four o’clock in the morning launched a trifecta of trauma that changed Lisa’s life forever. Three experiences with death and illness occurred in her family in just 10 months. Her beloved brother died suddenly of an asthma-induced heart attack, her father was battling lymphoma, and her son became catastrophically ill. When her family’s world imploded, Lisa felt as if she had become irrevocably damaged.
Instead, she discovered her calling during a sunrise walk along the beach at the height of her son’s illness. Lisa heard the word “Soaringwords,” and suddenly knew why she was born. She channeled her passion and resilience into a global movement that would inspire millions of people to never give up.
Her lifetime of experiences helping others through trauma, grief, illness, and setbacks—combined with her own personal experiences—led her to found Soaringwords, a not-for-profit organization with the mission of inspiring children, families, adults, seniors, and health care professionals to take active roles in self healing to experience greater physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Today, Lisa is an internationally recognized Positive Psychology thought leader.
Wherever you are within your journey, this debut memoir provides illumination and inspiration as you seek to become the best version of yourself, even in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
Praise for SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain
Here is what thought leaders and best-selling authors are saying about SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain.
Joselin Linder
Author, The Family Gene
“Whether tending to a blind duck at the local park or beating the crap out of bullies while they were attacking her younger brother, Buksbaum’s biting humor and indomitable spirit will inspire you to become the hero of your own life. After experiencing multiple setbacks and challenges, Lisa launched Soaringwords, a global movement to inspire millions of people to believe they are stronger than they ever imagined.”
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
Co-founder, Happiness Studies Academy
“SOARING into Strength is an authentic coming-of-age story that provides us with a much-needed compass to navigate life’s challenges. Lisa masterfully weaves sound advice with comforting stories—which is precisely what we all need, today more than ever.”
Dr. Bernard Beitman
Founder, Coincidence Project; visiting professor, University of Virginia; author, Connecting with Coincidence
“Infused with her expansive love and deeply lived knowing, Lisa Buksbaum’s elegantly inspiring words will soar into your hearts to transform the isolation of illness into loving connectedness. Her profound faith and several tumultuous life experiences opened up powerful synchronicities and pathways to creating this global healing organization that models how to take active roles in self-healing through compassion for others.”
Dr. Lea Waters
Psychologist; researcher; speaker; author, The Strength Switch
Psychologist; researcher; speaker; author, The Strength Switch
“A journey through trauma to growth that is insightful and inspiring. Lisa Buksbaum shows us how we can heal ourselves and extend that healing to others.”
Dr. Dan Tomasulo
Academic director, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University; author, Learned Hopefulness
Academic director, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Teachers College, Columbia University; author, Learned Hopefulness
“Lisa Buksbaum heals her pain with love and takes us on her journey offering hope and inspiration. She shows us not only how to bounce back—but to bounce forward.”
Dr. Richard Tedeschi
Pioneering scientist and psychologist who coined the term Post-Traumatic Growth; author, Transformed by Trauma
Pioneering scientist and psychologist who coined the term Post-Traumatic Growth; author, Transformed by Trauma
“In her memoir, Lisa Buksbaum offers us stories from throughout her life in an engaging style and the insights that show how we all learn from joys and sorrows. It is no wonder that her organization Soaringwords is also a combination of those essentials of life. Many readers will come to reflect on their own life stories and see them in a new and more meaningful light after reading Lisa's work.”
Dr. Margarita Tarragona
President, Mexican Positive Psychology Society; psychologist; author, Positive Identities; faculty, University of Pennsylvania Online Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology
President, Mexican Positive Psychology Society; psychologist; author, Positive Identities; faculty, University of Pennsylvania Online Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology
“I loved this book! I have been a guest expert on the SOARING into Strength podcast and met Lisa at several international positive psychology conferences. But now I feel I have had the opportunity to know her in a much deeper way. She has invited me, like all of her readers, into her life. I laughed a lot and I cried when I read SOARING into Strength, and I could almost feel the love coming out of the pages. I admire Lisa and Soaringwords, and I hope many people will be touched by her experience like I was.”
Dr. Michael F. Steger
Founder and director, Center for Meaning and Purpose; professor of psychology, Colorado State University
Founder and director, Center for Meaning and Purpose; professor of psychology, Colorado State University
“This book greets you as an autobiographical collection of stories but is truly a meditation on strength, positivity, and resilience—an ode to how we can keep going during difficulties, big and small, while still preserving a sense of grace, beauty, and lively encouragement of others. Lisa Buksbaum emerges through this book as a shining and positive presence for other people, with a purpose for encouraging others that is hard-won.”
Sheryl Sandberg
Former chief operating officer, Meta; founder, Lean In and Option B; best-selling author, Lean In and Option B
Former chief operating officer, Meta; founder, Lean In and Option B; best-selling author, Lean In and Option B
“One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned since I lost my husband Dave is the role we all can play in lifting each other through hardship. But sometimes it’s hard to know what to say or do. In Lisa Buksbaum’s Soaring into Strength, you’ll find the right words and thoughtful gestures to offer support to people in your life. This book will help all of us show up for those who need it most.”
Sharon Salzberg
Author, Lovingkindness and Real Change
Author, Lovingkindness and Real Change
“SOARING into Strength is a beautifully written reminder to keep going, to keep loving, and to keep faith, gracefully enabling the reader to recognize their own heroic qualities of compassion, courage, and vigor.”
Dr. Isaac Prilleltensky
Co-author with Ora Prilleltensky, How People Matter; former dean, School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami; former vice provost for Institutional Culture, University of Miami
Co-author with Ora Prilleltensky, How People Matter; former dean, School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami; former vice provost for Institutional Culture, University of Miami
“This is an authentic, captivating, and inspiring book. Turning pain and suffering into meaning, Lisa reminds us that we can all matter, even under the most difficult circumstances. I had a hard time putting the book down, and I know you will too. It will engulf you and invigorate you.”
Dr. Lisa Miller
Founder and professor, Spirituality and Mind-Body Institute, Columbia University, Teachers College; author, The Awakened Brain and New York Times bestseller The Spiritual Child
Founder and professor, Spirituality and Mind-Body Institute, Columbia University, Teachers College; author, The Awakened Brain and New York Times bestseller The Spiritual Child
“Awakening is a quest. Each one of us has the innate ability to open our eyes, our hearts, and our deeper being to a profound connection to the field of life. This is our birthright. SOARING into Strength is a magnificent memoir that offers a front-row seat to Lisa Buksbaum's quest with a heightened sense of awe, gratitude, and resilience. Synchronicity, faith, and deep knowledge of Positive Psychology propel her to transform trauma into a wellspring of healing for herself and for others.”
Megan McDonough
Founder, Wholebeing Institute
Founder, Wholebeing Institute
“Being human holds magnificence, the mundane, and mourning. Lisa weaves the threads of her life in a wonderfully relatable and heartfelt way, drawing us into our own human experiences by reading hers. This book gives hope, even when life is unexpectedly harsh.”
Chris Mackey
Fellow, Australian Psychological Society; author, The Positive Psychology of Synchronicity
Fellow, Australian Psychological Society; author, The Positive Psychology of Synchronicity
“Buksbaum writes with great warmth, honesty, wit, and wisdom—infused with a deep spiritual and intuitive understanding. Lisa has a transcendent capacity to describe personal life events involving challenge, loss, and grief in a way that is profoundly heartening and uplifting. SOARING into Strength spells out the formative and synchronistic experiences that led Lisa to establish Soaringwords, a remarkable organization that has touched the lives of vast numbers of people, including those impacted by serious illness. Lisa’s story demonstrates how vulnerability can be merged with personal strength and resilience, especially when expressed with love and compassion.”
Joselin Linder
Author, The Family Gene
Author, The Family Gene
“Whether tending to a blind duck at the local park or beating the crap out of bullies while they were attacking her younger brother, Buksbaum’s biting humor and indomitable spirit will inspire you to become the hero of your own life. After experiencing multiple setbacks and challenges, Lisa launched Soaringwords, a global movement to inspire millions of people to believe they are stronger than they ever imagined.”
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
Best-selling author, Transcend; professor, Columbia University; host, The Psychology Podcast; writer, Beautiful Minds column for Scientific American
Best-selling author, Transcend; professor, Columbia University; host, The Psychology Podcast; writer, Beautiful Minds column for Scientific American
“In a world sorely needing hope, faith, and enduring and endearing role models, SOARING into Strength provides a roadmap for living a life infused with kindness, wisdom, and humor. This memoir is very relevant in these fraught times. Buksbaum transcends life’s traumas and challenges with steadfast determination, abundant moxy, and an enormous heart. I highly recommend this powerful, enjoyable read.”
Dr. Lucy Hone
Author, Resilient Grieving; co-founder, Coping With Loss community
Author, Resilient Grieving; co-founder, Coping With Loss community
“Lisa’s story of how she found a way to transform pain, stigma, misery, and loss into an opportunity to help reduce those things in others is inspiring. It’s so important we all learn how to talk openly about illness, disabilities, and grief, and stop pretending they're not part of life. Lisa’s work makes life’s hardest moments that bit easier.”
Dr. Ken Harris
Founder and director, Mind-Body Wellness Education Center; transformational teacher, author, speaker, and healer
Founder and director, Mind-Body Wellness Education Center; transformational teacher, author, speaker, and healer
“This book is a treasure to read. The author takes you on a journey through childhood into adulthood with such intimacy and details that evoke joy, sorrow, and laughter. I found myself tearing up, smiling, and laughing aloud. I so enjoyed getting to know this courageous and audacious heroine. This deeply personal memoir shares so many universal truths that anyone will relate to and be inspired. As a doctor and healer, this book has had a lasting impression on my soul.”
Rachel Epstein
Director, American Institute of Mental Imagery (AIMI)
Director, American Institute of Mental Imagery (AIMI)
“An emotional tour de force where the protagonist is often led by the small still voice that resides within. SOARING into Strength inspires us to listen to our inner knowingness as a powerful compass that will guide us along rocky terrain of life. Packed with evocative stories and beautiful imagery, this book will touch the deepest recesses of your soul.”
Dr. Jane Dutton
Co-founder, Center for Positive Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; author, Energize Your Workplace, Awakening Compassion at Work, and How to Be a Positive Leader
Co-founder, Center for Positive Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; author, Energize Your Workplace, Awakening Compassion at Work, and How to Be a Positive Leader
“Lisa Buksbaum is a marvelous storyteller who generously shares her life story with the whimsical nostalgia evocative of Judy Blume; the searing emotional tightrope of trauma and loss of Joan Didion; and the side-splitting, consistently wry humor of David Sedaris. You’ll fall in love with a beloved cast of characters and discover the healing power of kindness and courage.”
Dr. James R. Doty
Founder and director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University; New York Times and international best-selling author, Into the Magic Shop
Founder and director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University; New York Times and international best-selling author, Into the Magic Shop
“SOARING into Strength is a moving narrative of how the author, challenged by her own family health difficulties, resolved to create an organization that uses Positive Psychology to not only allow self-healing but to also allow one to pay it forward. A powerful and poignant story of the power each of us has to heal ourselves.”
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
“After a trifecta of calamities, Lisa Honig Buksbaum founded Soaringwords, a charity that seeks to help ill children and their families to heal. Everyone can pay-it-forward by doing something positive for someone else. It’s great to hear, ‘This was the happiest day of my life because I learned that I could make a difference.’ That’s the gift of Soaringwords.”
Chip Conley
New York Times best-selling author, Wisdom@Work; founder, Modern Elder Academy
New York Times best-selling author, Wisdom@Work; founder, Modern Elder Academy
“Like a flowing river, life is never still. SOARING into Strength is an emotional tour de force that takes you on a fast-paced journey through many twists and turns with bracing candor, abundant humor, and steadfast determination. Buksbaum is a compelling and reliable guide who will transport you to distant shores, somehow wiser and definitely more hopeful.”
Dr. Kim Cameron
Professor emeritus, Management & Organizations, University of Michigan; professor emeritus, Higher Education, University of Michigan
Professor emeritus, Management & Organizations, University of Michigan; professor emeritus, Higher Education, University of Michigan
“This is an unusual kind of book, but then Lisa Buksbaum is an unusual kind of person. She has had a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of people, and this book illustrates why. You will be uplifted, inspired, elevated, and informed as well as moved to tears and caused to think deeply about your own life and those of loved ones. Lisa’s stories and examples, most of them deeply personal, illustrate key principles regarding well-being, resiliency, compassion, unselfishness, purpose, and triumph. I guarantee that you will be moved and enlightened by this book.”
Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
Co-founder, Happiness Studies Academy
Co-founder, Happiness Studies Academy
“SOARING into Strength is an authentic coming-of-age story that provides us with a much-needed compass to navigate life’s challenges. Lisa masterfully weaves sound advice with comforting stories—which is precisely what we all need, today more than ever.”
Dr. Bernard Beitman
Founder, Coincidence Project; visiting professor, University of Virginia; author, Connecting with Coincidence
Founder, Coincidence Project; visiting professor, University of Virginia; author, Connecting with Coincidence
“Infused with her expansive love and deeply lived knowing, Lisa Buksbaum’s elegantly inspiring words will soar into your hearts to transform the isolation of illness into loving connectedness. Her profound faith and several tumultuous life experiences opened up powerful synchronicities and pathways to creating this global healing organization that models how to take active roles in self-healing through compassion for others.”
Pay it Forward
Your generous contribution enables Soaringwords to create unique workshops and initiatives to help people experience greater physical, emotional, and mental well-being. One hundred percent of your contribution is tax deductible.
