Sheryl Sandberg on tragically losing her husband: 'I’m a different person now'

AP/Richard Drew

It's been two years since well-known Silicon Valley executive Dave Goldberg died tragically and suddenly while on a treadmill at a Mexican resort while vacationing with his family.

Goldberg was the beloved husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and, as is her way, she took her grief and turned it into something that she hopes the whole world can learn from: another book, which is available for sale on Monday.

This one is about finding your inner resilience and coping with adversity. The book is called "Option B" and is co-authored with psychologist and best-selling author of "Give and Take" Adam Grant.

The name came from a story she included when she posted a long, heartbreaking essay shortly after her husband died.

"I was talking to one of these friends about a father-child activity that Dave is not here to do. We came up with a plan to fill in for Dave. I cried to him, "But I want Dave. I want option A." He put his arm around me and said, "Option A is not available. So let's just kick the shit out of option B."

In a post on Monday announcing that the book is now available, Sandberg explains the hidden blessing she found as she was forced to endure her grief:

"I’m a different person now than I was before I lost Dave. I know what it feels like when the void is closing in on you. But I also appreciate life in a way I didn’t before – and I know that we have within us the capacity not just to endure, but to grow."

While she clearly still pines for Option A, Goldberg himself, and can hardly talk about him in the video below without tearing up, Sandberg does seem to be back thriving among the living again.

For instance, she's been dating Bobby Kotick, the billionaire CEO of gaming company Activision. She's out heavily promoting her new book. (Her last book "Lean In" jump-started a new wave of corporate activism for women.) And she's speaking up on political subjects, for instance, against the Trump administration's ban on letting health care providers discuss abortion with their patients. She also changed Facebook's bereavement leave to up to 20 paid days. The corporate standard for paid leave is three days.

Here's the new video for her new book, in which Sandberg and many other people featured in the book discuss the difficulties they had to face and the methods they used to heal and thrive.

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