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Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl,

Harold S. Kushner (Foreword),

William J. Winslade (Afterword),

Isle Lasch (Translator)

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Jan 10, 2018 Jen Pratt rated it really liked it

This book is very insightful. Viktor was a doctor of psychology prior to being taken to four concentration camps during World War II. He used his knowledge to assess what things motivated people to live and which led them to give up. When people had a purpose, like living for their child or to write a book with their specialized knowledge, they felt the motivation to strive, despite their trying circumstances. He then used his insights to create a therapy called Logotherapy.
One paradigm shift a ...more

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Apr 30, 2021 Natasha rated it it was amazing

A life altering book. How do you find meaning for your life? By doing a work you enjoy, loving deeply, and finding meaning in your suffering. Everyone should read this book.

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Nov 12, 2018 Kent Winward rated it it was amazing

I was surprised by the fact that this was more Frankl applying his own logotherapy mode of psychology on his personal holocaust experience. The underlying need for a meaningful life seems to be left out of current psychological trends, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Acceptance Commitment Therapy, not to mention good old fashioned Freudian or Jungian psychotherapy. The human need for meaning and purpose is an important part of our psychic makeup and we ignore it at a cost.

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Jan 26, 2020 Wes F rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had previously read Frankl's Search for Ultimate Meaning and thought this book might give more insight into that one. Well, it really didn't do much. It was very interesting (& sickening) to read of the unbelievable treatment of so many in the WWII German concentration/extermination camps--and of how someone like Frankl coped with the darkness & despair of those days. But, I'm not sure that for most people just having a future in mind and keeping a "vision" of that hope is enough to truly get ...more

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