But what happens when you see challenge as an opportunity to discover your purpose—and change the world? Join Taya Kyle and thirty-five remarkable Americans on their extraordinary journeys from despair to lives of passion and service.

After losing her husband, “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, bestselling author Taya Kyle entered a period of inconsolable grief. And yet this darkness has served as a catalyst for profound growth. Taya drew strength from the support of family and friends—and also many strangers across America, who selflessly shared their own stories of suffering, survival, and triumph. Inspired, Taya found her calling: spreading a message of how love, passion, and service can help us persevere over personal pain and heal our communities.

American Spirit profiles more than thirty individuals, young and old, rich and not-so-rich, famous and unknown, who have overcome hardship and done extraordinary things. In the end, these stories teach us how to find purpose and heal the world, no matter the difficulty. “Every action, big or small,” Taya writes, “has the potential to spark someone else’s movement.”