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

3.0

I really liked the idea behind this book, but I didn't think the execution of it was very well done. I don't know if I can quite put my finger on why I didn't like it. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was a little boring. The experiences from the concentration camp that he shared somehow seemed impersonal, detached in a way that made it not as compelling. The psychological side of it had some interesting parts, but at times, it seemed he was reaching to prove his new theory. This might be the kind of book that would be better to go online and find someone's synopsis of it.

The main idea is that rather than searching for happiness, man should be searching for meaning. If someone can find a meaning for their suffering, they can endure just about anything. If they lose sight of the meaning of it, they will give up. "In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice."