In this groundbreaking book, Elizabeth Chapman Hoult shows how literary texts and literary theory can open up research into resilient adult learning. The work of Hélène Cixous, is used in energetic and engaging way both as an investigative tool and analogy for transformational learning. This highly original study, which sets out an approach that Hoult calls la recherche fé In this groundbreaking book, Elizabeth Chapman Hoult shows how literary texts and literary theory can open up research into resilient adult learning. The work of Hélène Cixous, is used in energetic and engaging way both as an investigative tool and analogy for transformational learning. This highly original study, which sets out an approach that Hoult calls la recherche féminine, takes the reader on an exciting journey through myth, drama and poetry, to encounters with real resilient learners and autobiographical writing in order to understand why some adult learners are able to survive and thrive in the education system, despite disadvantages.