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aquigleyy's review against another edition
4.0
“as an Auchwitz survivor, I am here to fell you that the worst prison is not the one the Nazis put me in. The worst prison is the one I built for myself.”
Dr. Edith Eger does it again! If I could have lunch with one person, dead or alive, she would be extremely high on my list. Her other book, The Choice, was one of the greatest books I’ve read – truly a page-turner that I couldn’t put down and gave me so many insightful thoughts to dwell on. I love hearing about her experiences in Auchwitz coupled with her pure determination to survive and how she now relates that part of her life to her clinical psychology practice. Nearly every sentence in this book is quote worthy and I find myself scribbling them down hoping to remember them later and apply them in my own life. We all have lessons to learn from this great woman.
Dr. Edith Eger does it again! If I could have lunch with one person, dead or alive, she would be extremely high on my list. Her other book, The Choice, was one of the greatest books I’ve read – truly a page-turner that I couldn’t put down and gave me so many insightful thoughts to dwell on. I love hearing about her experiences in Auchwitz coupled with her pure determination to survive and how she now relates that part of her life to her clinical psychology practice. Nearly every sentence in this book is quote worthy and I find myself scribbling them down hoping to remember them later and apply them in my own life. We all have lessons to learn from this great woman.
jforjendetta's review against another edition
5.0
The Gift: 14 Lessons to Save Your Life by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. 2020. Scribner. 256 Pages. $25.00
The title of this book lives up to its claim as a gift to those who opt to receive its many lessons. Dr. Eger, a Holocaust survivor who took several decades to come to grips with her own trauma, spent years as a psychologist helping others face theirs before deciding to immortalize her memoir in her book The Choice: Embrace the Possible in 2017 and then share a compendium of lessons learned from her life as well as from many cases of individuals she has worked with. Inspired by the philosophies of her contemporary and once friend, Viktor Frankl, Dr. Eger gives a prescription for seizing control over one’s life through mindset shifts and clear practices. The layout of the book uses anecdotes, and then gives easy to return to recaps of major points and suggestions. Each chapter focuses on core issues and has memorable titles such as “There Was No Prozac in Auschwitz” and maxims sure to resonate. This new edition also includes two new lessons for a post-pandemic reality. In many ways this work is like a guidebook that one can visit for doses of inspiration and a pathway forward. Dr. Eger is honest, straightforward, and willing to be vulnerable. The directness of her voice allows the reader to digest the magnitude of her messages. This is a book that is easy to read but takes time to sit with if you want the deepest impact
The title of this book lives up to its claim as a gift to those who opt to receive its many lessons. Dr. Eger, a Holocaust survivor who took several decades to come to grips with her own trauma, spent years as a psychologist helping others face theirs before deciding to immortalize her memoir in her book The Choice: Embrace the Possible in 2017 and then share a compendium of lessons learned from her life as well as from many cases of individuals she has worked with. Inspired by the philosophies of her contemporary and once friend, Viktor Frankl, Dr. Eger gives a prescription for seizing control over one’s life through mindset shifts and clear practices. The layout of the book uses anecdotes, and then gives easy to return to recaps of major points and suggestions. Each chapter focuses on core issues and has memorable titles such as “There Was No Prozac in Auschwitz” and maxims sure to resonate. This new edition also includes two new lessons for a post-pandemic reality. In many ways this work is like a guidebook that one can visit for doses of inspiration and a pathway forward. Dr. Eger is honest, straightforward, and willing to be vulnerable. The directness of her voice allows the reader to digest the magnitude of her messages. This is a book that is easy to read but takes time to sit with if you want the deepest impact
apriladventuring's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
📚 2024 #10: “The Gift” by Edith Eger
📕 This book is a guide to healing oneself by learning to be in control of our thoughts and reactions. Eger survived unspeakable tragedies throughout her life, having been a prisoner at Auschwitz and seeing many of her loved ones sent to their deaths. She learned that the worst punishments she experienced weren't due to her life situations, but rather to the destructive thought patterns and emotions that filled her mind. She began a career as a psychologist, helping her patients work through their own mental barriers and find happiness.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5: Eger's mental toughness and ability to see the upside to life is beyond inspirational. The 12 lessons she describes in this book are how to overcome 12 negative thought patterns we all experience, such as fear, guilt, and anger. She includes many helpful examples from her own life and stories from her psychology practice. I love when she says "the opposite of depression is expression." She encourages her patients to work through their grief or problems by sitting with them (for a specified, short time), expressing them (journaling, crying, etc.), and to move on and find joy. All her lessons are easier said than done, but we should all strive to work on them bit by bit daily.
🤓 You should read this if you're grieving or going through a difficult experience. If you liked "The Happiest Man on Earth" by Eddie Jaku or "Solve for Happy" by Mo Gawdat, you may like this.
📕 This book is a guide to healing oneself by learning to be in control of our thoughts and reactions. Eger survived unspeakable tragedies throughout her life, having been a prisoner at Auschwitz and seeing many of her loved ones sent to their deaths. She learned that the worst punishments she experienced weren't due to her life situations, but rather to the destructive thought patterns and emotions that filled her mind. She began a career as a psychologist, helping her patients work through their own mental barriers and find happiness.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5: Eger's mental toughness and ability to see the upside to life is beyond inspirational. The 12 lessons she describes in this book are how to overcome 12 negative thought patterns we all experience, such as fear, guilt, and anger. She includes many helpful examples from her own life and stories from her psychology practice. I love when she says "the opposite of depression is expression." She encourages her patients to work through their grief or problems by sitting with them (for a specified, short time), expressing them (journaling, crying, etc.), and to move on and find joy. All her lessons are easier said than done, but we should all strive to work on them bit by bit daily.
🤓 You should read this if you're grieving or going through a difficult experience. If you liked "The Happiest Man on Earth" by Eddie Jaku or "Solve for Happy" by Mo Gawdat, you may like this.
annaleo's review against another edition
5.0
A book I would warmly suggest to everyone. Eger shares her story and stories of many other people and after each chapter she shortly summarizes practical helpful tips and methods mentioned in the chapter. Some of them I have already tried.
As I regularly see therapist, book helped to deepen many things I have been working on already and methods and stories helped to look on it from a fresh point of view.
And after chapters there are Hungarian recipes at the end to try out.
I guess this quote could be the one that tells what is this book about.
We have ".. an opportunity to decide what kind of life you want to have, to discover the untapped potential lying in the shadows, to reveal and reclaim who you really are. Honey, may you also choose to give up the prison and do the work to be free. To find in your suffering your own life lessons. To choose which legacy the world inherits. To hand down the pain—or to pass on the gift."
As I regularly see therapist, book helped to deepen many things I have been working on already and methods and stories helped to look on it from a fresh point of view.
And after chapters there are Hungarian recipes at the end to try out.
I guess this quote could be the one that tells what is this book about.
We have ".. an opportunity to decide what kind of life you want to have, to discover the untapped potential lying in the shadows, to reveal and reclaim who you really are. Honey, may you also choose to give up the prison and do the work to be free. To find in your suffering your own life lessons. To choose which legacy the world inherits. To hand down the pain—or to pass on the gift."
cstark's review against another edition
3.0
Love the stories and bits about lives lived. And the advice is good. Sound stuff. But a bit repetitive maybe?
emmareeser's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.5
I stumbled upon this book by pure chance (accidentally grabbed both my hold and the one next to it at the library) and decided to give it a read before returning. Now, to paraphrase the author, I think it was sent to me. I typically don't go for the self-help type books, but this is probably one of the best books on trauma/grief that I've read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence