Book Club Friday's (#17) - Man's Search for Meaning

eldergill (52)in #bookclub • 6 years ago

Viktor E. Frankl's book: Man's search for meaning is an incredible account of memories/ living through the holocaust as a Jewish prisoner of war. It has sold millions of copies and has been listed among 'the ten most influential books in America'.

About the author

Viktor E. Frankl was a professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School. He has held professorships at Harvard, Stanford and Pittsburgh. His Writings are regarded as 'the most important contributions in the fields of Psychotherapy since the days of Freud, Adler and Jung. Frankl was born in 1992 and raised in Vienna, he lived for 92 years and subsequently died in 1997 in Vienna and this book along with his work has been and is likely to continue to be celebrated for many decades to come.

A little bit about the book

This book has been celebrated by many and has sold over 12 million copies since its first initial release. It is about a Jewish Psychotherapeutic doctors journey in the second world war where he was taken as a prisoner for three years to three concentration camps including Auschwitz. He talks of day-to-day life in the camp, and really puts things into perspective whilst also looking at the psychology of the men's actions on both sides of the fence.

Today's version is split up into several sections:

Part 1: Life before, during and after being held a prisoner of war as a Jewish man.

Part 2: Logotherapy (Viktor E. Frankl's branch of psychotherapy)

Postscript 1984

Afterword by William J. Winslade

& Selected Letters and Speeches made by Frankl.

Each section all links to a few key things that Frankl wants us to remember in life. We all are responsible for finding our own meaning on this earth, and that life is all about our choices and our attitude to the situations we are faced with or the situations we put ourselves in.

We all need a purpose in order to want to be alive, we all must understand through self-development what we have to do while alive, the answer isn't just given to all of us but it often comes with facing adversity. When put into uncomfortable situations Frankl states that it is extremely important that we remain positive. That we remain hopeful that there is a silver lining, and that we stay good as people, regardless of the hate and anger being fuelled upon us. He, like so many, went through hell and back and only a few actually survived. But what is most extraordinary to me is his lack of disgust towards the Nazi's, all of the hate went away, and he states that to be guilty is only of your own accord, you cannot blame guilt on somebody else. Especially not descendants of the Nazi's themselves.

There are only a few good people on earth Frankl claims, the hope we have as a humanity is that the good people are placed into power, and not the bad. Be a part of the minority and have a good heart, and give rather than take from others.