19 Questions for Tasha Eurich
The psychologist and bestselling author of Shatterproof on how to thrive when the world won't stop spinning.
Few authors writing about personal growth are as grounded—and as genuinely helpful—as Tasha Eurich. A psychologist, researcher, and executive coach, Tasha has spent her career studying how people grow through challenge, how they build resilience, and, most importantly, how they become more self-aware. Her writing is clear-eyed and compassionate, science-backed and deeply human. She doesn’t deal in fluff or false promises; she offers real tools, backed by research, for navigating a world that rarely slows down long enough for us to catch our breath.
In her 2017 book, Insight, she tackled the topic of self-awareness—what it is, why it matters, and how we can cultivate more of it in our work and lives. Insight was named a best book of the year by Strategy + Business, praised by The Washington Post, and backed by a TEDx talk that’s been viewed more than five million times.
Her latest book, Shatterproof: How to Thrive in a World of Constant Chaos (And Why Resilience Alone Isn’t Enough), picks up where Insight left off. In it, Eurich challenges the conventional wisdom that “resilience” is just about toughness or grit. She argues instead for a more sophisticated model, one that includes adaptability, meaning-making, emotional agility, and, yes, self-awareness. Drawing on dozens of studies and powerful real-world examples, Shatterproof offers a fresh roadmap for not just bouncing back, but bouncing forward.
We invited Tasha to answer the Author Insider Questionnaire, our writer-focused twist on the Vanity Fair “Proust Questionnaire.” Her responses are thoughtful, energizing, and filled with the clarity and insight that define her work.
—Panio
Nineteen Questions With Tasha Eurich
1/ I couldn’t have written my last book without… my 14-year old, five-pound rescue poodle, Fred, by my side.
2/ What’s the thing most people get wrong about being a writer? Thinking “how are book sales?” is small talk! Bless our friends and family, but there is no faster way to induce anxiety behind a polite shrug. (If I checked my sales numbers that often, I would be institutionalized!)
3/ Hemingway wrote standing up; Edith Wharton, lying down. What are your quirks? I have a genetic connective tissue disease (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), so I I can’t stand or sit for long stretches. Most of my new book, Shatterproof, was written from an adjustable zero-G bed—aka The Eurich Group’s Global Bedquarters.
4/ Do you read your reviews? I used to. As a recovering people pleaser, it nearly killed me. Now, my team summarizes the helpful criticism and deletes the rest. Insight without hyperventilation.
5/ What income streams make up your writing business? Book advances drive the engine. Speaking and consulting are equal pillars, with courses and product sales a distant third.
6/ Have any tech tools made your job easier? I’m in love with Substack. I don’t have current plans to charge (that might change), but there is no better feeling than NOT paying my old newsletter company $700 a month for product that I hated! Plus, the whole team at Substack is amazing.
7/ How has AI changed your writing process? It’s my creative partner and editor. This partnership doesn’t always save me time—I now refine nearly obsessively—but overall, I think it’s helped me become a better writer. Also, I don’t feel so alone.
8/ Where do you find new ideas? Total ambivert process. I stew in them first—unexplainable until they click. Then I talk them out with smart people. Then back into my introvert cave to finish.
9/ How do you keep track of new ideas? Truthfully, I haven’t found a great solution for this. I tried Scrivener once, and it broke my brain. My luddite self is still limping along with one giant, chaotic Word file.
10/ What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received? From Peter Drucker via Marshall Goldsmith: “The purpose of life is to make a positive difference; not to prove how smart you are or how right you are.”
11/ And the worst? “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!” I hate it so much that I devoted an entire chapter to debunking it in Shatterproof.
12/ What is the one piece of advice you would give to recent graduates that want to make a living as a writer? Don’t make writing your only income stream—it isn’t mine and will probably never be—especially when you’re starting out. So many people will ask you to write for free, and you’ll want to be able to get your work out there without the pressure of making ends meet. Think about starting a side hustle first, then eventually building an ecosystem around writing. Your landlord and future self will thank you.
13/ How did you find your agent? I asked a few trusted “famous authors” for introductions. One agent passed and three were interested. My agent is truly a match made in heaven. Without her, I’d be selling books out of my trunk.
14/ Coffee, tea, or something stronger? A dirty vodka martini with blue cheese olives makes me feel like F. Scott Fitzgerald (emphasis on feel like)
15/ What's the most effective way you've found to build your email list? Two ways: 1) high value online digital assets and 2) opt-in, follow-up resources at speaking events.
16/ How are you using social media to grow your audience? Candidly, I have mixed feelings, but I am in the game and have an amazing team. Our main platform is LinkedIn, then Instagram and TikTok a distant second and third. We’ve been leaning into more video content, which has been surprisingly fun once I learned how to work the equipment.
17/ How many drafts before you show your editor? Probably too many. Between two (if magic strikes) and ten (if something’s very wrong). She always makes it better.
18/ What is your new book about? Shatterproof is about moving beyond resilience—becoming better, stronger, and wiser because of life’s hardest moments, not in spite of them.
19/ Any new projects the Author Insider community can help support? Come join me on my Substack! Our no-spam-ever Best You Bulletin Community has a bit of a cult-like following. It’s one of my favorite ways to connect: www.tashaeurich.com.
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