Man's Search for Meaning by
Viktor E. FranklMy rating:
4 of 5 starsThe experiences of Viktor Frankl in the Nazi concentration camp at the notorious Auschwitz site have haunted me for a long time...and have made me brood and think over hitherto unheard of (and disturbing) topics.
This book is not a story...but rather feels like a documentary. It's a collection of (horrible) experiences and memories and lessons from the same, and an introduction of Frankl's theory of
Logotherapy. Frankl was a psychiatrist by profession and it is very evident from his work that he has tried to look at his sufferings and experiences from a third person's (or rather a psychiatrist's) view and derive lessons and conclusions from the same. Considering the situation he and his folks were in, it would have been understandable if his writings would have had any anger or hate in them, and the absence of such emotional outbursts in his writing is something that I found really remarkable.Not everybody can look at themselves, their situation and the larger picture from a logically detached third person's point of view,...especially not in the face of such suffering and torture as the Jews were subject to in Nazi death camps.
Even through all the suffering and the disturbing scenes, his message is loud and clear...life has meaning...which is to be found in every moment of existence...irrespective of whether it is spent in enjoyment or suffering or mundane day to day activities...and that faith, inner spiritual fabric and the freedom of choice inherent in every situation are some things to hold on to. This is absolutely not possible without "hope" for the future
I came across this book back during my college days (thanks to a great English teacher), and is definitely a book that I would recommend (with a fair warning that some of it might be disturbing and haunting, at least for a bit of time).
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