In the article "Turning Life's Trials into Strengths: A Real Story of Rags to Riches", Ellen Blum Barish talks about how we do not recognize our own strengths. Especially when something bad happens to us we let that situation bring us down. She also compares how women handle pain different than men.

Ellen states that us as humans we let trials and challenges . She says, "...we lose by thinking, and acting, negatively over them." We are lost and naive that we should let the worst take out the best in us. Ellen writes about "why can't we take these challenges and change them into strengths".

According to this article it states that most women live unhappy. She also talks about how the women's body may affect them to be sad and negative.

Relation to the book

In "Sounder" this young boy is faced with challenges and obstacles he must over come. He realizes he must not let these situations over come him , and he goes on to someone thing great in his life. That at that time no Africa- American had the opportunity to do.