A review by yuditk
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Man's Search for Meaning is not a big book but the content is very deep. The author begins by telling us all about his experiences in the concentration camps during WWII. This part of the book is not easy, he writes it in a way that is not super detailed but at the same time is (which I know makes no sense, but will only make sense when you read it). You still get the gruesome memories, but Frankl's purpose of writing this is not to dwell on it but to teach his philosophy to you. He uses his experience as an example for us to show that despite the suffering or really despite anything you're going through, you can always find a meaning for your life and a meaning for the suffering. He attributes this meaning and positive attitude to how people survived in the concentration camps. 
This theory is both fascinating and inspiring. Frankl starts his book with his own personal account of the Holocaust, but the second half goes more into how he practices his therapy. He uses vignettes to help us picture it better. Some of the second half lost me a bit since I'm not a psychology person, but the personal stories were where his writing and ideas shined. Despite being a somewhat controversial figure, I was inspired by Frankl and would like to read more about him and his work. He had a lot of ideas that I think could be applied to our world today
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