Man's Search for Meaning in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 11, 2022 Linda Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, geo-poland, psychology, geo-germany, 2022

This book is short but gives plenty to think about. There are three sections. The first section was a short memoir about the author's experiences in Auschwitz (Poland) and later Dachau (Germany) during World War II. He was already a psychiatrist specializing in suicide prevention at age 37 when he entered Auschwitz. Naturally he used his time in concentration camps to observe his fellow sufferers, especially in regards to who lived and who died. Prior to this experience he'd already written a fi This book is short but gives plenty to think about. There are three sections. The first section was a short memoir about the author's experiences in Auschwitz (Poland) and later Dachau (Germany) during World War II. He was already a psychiatrist specializing in suicide prevention at age 37 when he entered Auschwitz. Naturally he used his time in concentration camps to observe his fellow sufferers, especially in regards to who lived and who died. Prior to this experience he'd already written a first manuscript about Logotherapy, which was confiscated from him at the beginning of his dreadful concentration camp imprisonment.

The second section of this book is Logotherapy in a Nutshell wherein he explains his theory about a person's need for knowing a meaning for his or her life. The word "Logotherapy" means healing through meaning. He described people who continued to live during the Auschwitz experience because they knew they had more to do in life, while others gave up hope and died. He observed the symptoms of a person who was no longer willing to live.

The third section of this book is titled Postscript 1984: The Case for a Tragic Optimism - I believe this is an addition to the book with more information about Logotheraphy. After World War II he apparently spent much of his time traveling and lecturing in the United States but lived in Vienna. I was startled when he mentioned Palo Alto here where I live in California, but then realized it made sense. He had a visiting professorship at Stanford University there.

I found it all very interesting. The audiobook kept my attention throughout the five hours it took to listen to it. I don't often listen to an audiobook for five hours straight on one day but that's what happened with this one - I couldn't stop listening. Even during the sad and distressing memoir about concentration camp life I didn't pause the recording out of respect for what he and so many others went through in those dark and terrible years.

I agree with Victor Frankl that we need to have meaning in our lives to thrive. My own life is so intertwined with meaning I cannot imagine the distress of living without it as many of his psychiatric patients have done. I live for Jesus, for my children, for my writing and for my art, to begin with. There's more, but that's enough to keep me happy.

I have no criticism for this book except that it was a bit short. I could have listened to more. It reminded me that when I was very young in my teens and twenties I used to read books about psychology. It has been a long time since I read something like this. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2022 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, inspiration, disaster, the-classics-club

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

Even if I had only read this one beautiful sentence from Man's Search for Meaning, this would have been a worthwhile ...more

4 likes · Like · see review