Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Man's Search for Meaning
Book Review: This Book is a Pure and True Path to Freedom
Summary: 5 Stars
Beautifully written. Easy to comprehend. A very meaningful book. The Doctor presents a good mix of his psychological thesis balanced with very moving and sometimes heart chilling personal accounts and testimonials. Written to inspire the best in anyone, it will definitely open the readers mind to all types of new ways of thinking about and looking at the world and especially at mankind. It contains the formula for a great personal philosophy. I would recommend this book to anyone, but particularly those who have been affected by trauma and or suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I have yet to come across a book as inspirational. It is one of my favorites and I have given it as a gift to many whom I love. 5 Stars!Book Review: "Et lux in tenebris lucet" - and the light shineth in the darkness.
Summary: 5 Stars
Viktor E. Frankl teaches us that light can be found in each individual struggle to find meaning within - even through the worst pain, suffering and dehumanization; even in the darkest corners of history...
The book is split into two parts: Experiences In A Concentration Camp and Logotherapy In a Nutshell.
Part one is an account of his experiences in the concentration camps (Auschwitz and several others). Frankl gives us a picture of the sequence of three psychological reactions the prisoners experience to the process of imprisonment and freedom. Despite the horrifying circumstances, we begin to see an optimism budding in the sea of bleakness: a unique sense of meaning in some of the prisoners which helps them to cope with the day to day horrors of camp existence - a meaning which holds their spirits up even though their bodies are broken. This part of the book is unbelievably sad, yet the message it carries about the human condition is truly empowering.
In part 2, we are given a brief overview of Frankl's theory of logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy which helps patients find meaning in their lives - no matter what their circumstances.
The wisdom contained herein is so rich that after having only finished it last night, I know that I will be re-reading it for the rest of my life.
Book Review: Frankl's reflections will stay with you
Summary: 5 Stars
An incredibly powerful, moving account of Frankl's concentration camp experience. His reflections are profound and will bless you deeply. The second half of the book includes an in-depth pyscological exploration that some will not find as digestible; but this is a rich part of the book and well worth the time. Highly recommended.Book Review: A good challenge
Summary: 4 Stars
In short, it's difficult to complain about life when getting a lesson on it from an Auschwitz survivor. It really puts things into perspective for anyone who feels lost or depressed or worthless or small. It gives depth to "if you can't change your situation, change your attitude."
Frankl hits on surprisingly modern points about depression years before Prozac Nation and the transferring of therapy and medications to the mainstream--the normalization of not feeling normal. And he manages to provide a power-packed message in a tiny book; I found myself taking notes on logotherapy and Frankl's observations. And now I find myself trying to figure out how to apply his theory to my everyday frustrations. It's a good challenge.
Feeling curious about the world, frustrated by your life, or lost? Take a weekend and read this book.
My only gripes are the translation, which was crap in the version I read (but I'm an editor, so I get cranky about things like that) and that Frankl does paint himself as the all-answering, all-curing type who can walk into a room and fix any poor fool who's been suffering for years within minutes. I appreciate a degree of modesty. But I guess he's earned the right to feel righteous.
Book Review: Just buy it
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read this more times than I can count. The autobiographical part of the book is stirring. The details of Logotherapy wear a bit thin after many reads, just because of familiarity.
I don't really relate to the idea of suffering as a life accomplishment - not because I devalue the trials of those who have no other choice, but just because I'm disconnected enough from it that I have trouble relating. I do continue to find the idea that a purpose is imposed on you rather than vice versa intriguing, although again, I'm not sure that I agree.
It's a great book and everyone should at least make a lap of the biography to understand what the Holocaust looked like from an insider, particularly people like myself who have been affected by the death of loved ones.
If you've never read it, it will be the best $7 you've ever spent.