It was one of the toughest presidential races in recent history and one that would have completely flattened many candidates, but Hillary Clinton is to reveal how she survived her bruising encounters with Donald Trump in a series of essays to be published worldwide this autumn.

The as yet untitled book will be a collection of essays inspired by quotations she has used to get through a life blighted by battles with political opponents, the media and her husband’s high-profile sexual scandals. It will also include her thoughts on the 2016 election campaign and Trump himself, her publisher Simon & Schuster said.

“These quotes have helped me celebrate the good times, laugh at the absurd times, persevere during the hard times and deepen my appreciation of all life has to offer,” Clinton said in a statement.

Though the book is not billed as a memoir, all eyes will be on what she shares about her unsuccessful campaign for the White House and the vituperative campaign waged against her: not just by Trump and his supporters, but also by Bernie Sanders, her Democrat rival.

Few people have needed as much sustaining inspiration during their career as Clinton. The 2016 campaign was marked by attacks on her integrity, claims that she had used her personal email to send classified information and questions about the Clinton Foundation, the charity run with her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea. It also saw Trump bring alleged sexual abuse victims of her husband to televised debates, allegations of Russian interference in the election to sway the victory for Trump and the intervention of FBI director James Comey over the email allegations in the week just before the election.

During her husband’s political career, Clinton was dragged into the media spotlight thanks to allegations of his having extramarital affairs, which ended with his impeachment and acquittal following his involvement with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

How much Clinton received for the new book was not revealed by S&S president and chief executive Carolyn Reidy, though it is expected to be substantial. In 2004, Bill Clinton received $15m (£12m) from Random House for his memoir My Life, while a year earlier his wife, by then a US senator, received $8m from S&S for her memoir Living History. The advance paid to Clinton by S&S for her 2014 memoir Hard Choices was never disclosed, but it was speculated to be around $14m.

“We are delighted that Secretary Clinton finally thinks the time is right to share the words and thoughts that nourished and enriched her, and defined the experiences of her extraordinary life,” Reidy said.

The book will appear concurrently with a picture-book version of the former US secretary of state’s 1996 bestseller, It Takes a Village.