This volume explores the human capacity for resilience despite the experience of adversity in early life. The book is a celebration of the contribution Ann and Alan Clarke have made to the field. Through their empirical and conceptual work they have advanced our understanding of how people overcome the influence of a hostile early environment.

A fascinating and easily digested review - a fitting tribute to the breadth and clarity of the research and clinical interests pursued and stimulated by Ann and Alan Clarke.' - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 'All researchers and practitioners in the area of mental handicap should find something of interest and relevance in this book. Overall the chapters are well written and bear witness to the Clarkes' significant contribution to our understanding of vulnerability.' - Mental Handicap Research Now available in paperback, this volume explores the human capacity for resilience despite the experience of adversity in early life. The book is a celebration of the significant contribution Ann and Alan Clarke have made to the field. Through their empirical and conceptual work they have advanced our understanding of how people overcome the influence of a hostile early environment. The contributors focus on the factors which enable people to recover from early trauma and stress, and demonstrate how human development is an ongoing process throughout the life course. They draw on theory and practice from fields as diverse as the origins of behaviour disorders, recovery from brain injury, curricular development for the learning disabled, and creative ability in older people. This positive volume will inform the practice of professionals working with children who have experience of adversity. It contributes to the advance of the nature-nurture debate, showing how a supportive environment offsets the effects of early adverse experience.