Title: Man's Search for Meaning
Author: Viktor E Frankl
Publisher: Beacon Press
Year: 1959
165 pages
From the Back: Psychiatrist Viktor E Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward. At the heart of his theory, known as logotherapy, is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Man's Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.
Personal Thoughts: I won't say this was an easy book to read, because it certainly wasn't. It's also not one I likely would have picked up, except that it was on my course reading list. However, I don't regret making way through these pages. I have read plenty of books from the WWII era over the last few years, most of them historical fiction, but to read about the events from the perspective of a psychiatrist was quite different. The fact that Frankl could find meaning in the events of his life, and of his time in the death camps, is simply incredible. It was also interesting to read about his theory of logotherapy. We often hear the phrase "the pursuit of happiness" but I agree with Frankl when he theorizes that it is more important to have the "pursuit of meaning". A life without meaning will never have happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment