Sometimes it can seem impossible to surmount life’s obstacles, particularly if you have been dealt more than your fair share. But you can often draw on the strength of others for inspiration and helpful advice, especially those who have gracefully overcome difficult trials of their own.

Author and musician Vanessa Leigh Hoffman first learned of the power of her own strength as a teenager when she was undergoing chemotherapy while attending school and writing and recording music.

“One can conquer anything he or she puts a focus on,” says Hoffman, who over the course of her life, endured both st...