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A review by iuniper
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
"Most important, he realised that, no matter what happened, he retained the freedom to choose how to respond to his suffering."
Contrary to popular belief, this memoir is not about the atrocities that took place in the concentration camps of WWII, even if they are an integral part of the book. Viktor Frankl doesn't question the whys and the hows of such actions, and as he states later in the book, he firmly believes even the murderers and the criminals are humans at their core and that enables them to transcend their evil and become better through their responsible choices.
This book written in merely nine days is about what it means to lead a life full of meaning in the face of suffering, whatever that may be. It takes a good amount of responsibility for one's own life and trajectory in life, and more importantly, it is the conscious decisions one makes in the face of suffering: you have the freedom to choose how to respond to it. And by doing this, you take or give power to your oppressor. It is through this belief, paired with a fair share of good luck, manipulation and the kindness of others that Viktor Frankl survived four concentration camps when others didn't. And it is through this belief (and I would also call it practice) that he survived what came after he was released from the camp too.
But he doesn't only speak about himself. He writes the stories of his patients as well, from the camp and after the liberation when he continued his work as a psychiatrist. And in writing these stories he gives us plenty of evidence that it is possible to find meaning even in suffering and that wherever we are, whoever we are, can find our purpose. We can let life break us as if we're mere spectators, or we can start being responsible for our existence.
Contrary to popular belief, this memoir is not about the atrocities that took place in the concentration camps of WWII, even if they are an integral part of the book. Viktor Frankl doesn't question the whys and the hows of such actions, and as he states later in the book, he firmly believes even the murderers and the criminals are humans at their core and that enables them to transcend their evil and become better through their responsible choices.
This book written in merely nine days is about what it means to lead a life full of meaning in the face of suffering, whatever that may be. It takes a good amount of responsibility for one's own life and trajectory in life, and more importantly, it is the conscious decisions one makes in the face of suffering: you have the freedom to choose how to respond to it. And by doing this, you take or give power to your oppressor. It is through this belief, paired with a fair share of good luck, manipulation and the kindness of others that Viktor Frankl survived four concentration camps when others didn't. And it is through this belief (and I would also call it practice) that he survived what came after he was released from the camp too.
But he doesn't only speak about himself. He writes the stories of his patients as well, from the camp and after the liberation when he continued his work as a psychiatrist. And in writing these stories he gives us plenty of evidence that it is possible to find meaning even in suffering and that wherever we are, whoever we are, can find our purpose. We can let life break us as if we're mere spectators, or we can start being responsible for our existence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, War, and Death