Man's Search For Meaning

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Introduction
A man’s search for meaning is a book on hope, aspiration and the attitude of meaningful living. Before I elaborate about the book, let me give a brief data. The book is written by Victor E. Frankl who is known as the father of logotherapy, a school of psychology. It is published by Rider publication, in 2008. The book is divided into 3 parts and contains 153 pages.
Theme
The book is a live account of all the events that happened in the life of the author during the Holocaust period. We all know that the Holocaust was one of the atrocious events in the history of mankind and many of the survivors work on the Holocaust, shows as the extent of these tortures and horrific event. Frankl, alike others describe the same terrifying experience.
What differentiates this novel from the rest is that it encourages people to find meaning to the life and the sufferings, a ray of hope for people to stay alive, even in the worst of the conditions. He describes the principles of logotherapy in brief and how he used it in practice at the concentration camps that will become the milestone in his life to eventually teach about logotherapy to others in upcoming life.
Pros
It is the only book by the author where he shares his first-hand experience to logotherapy. While other philosophers and teachers of psychology preach about their theory, Frankl showcases his learning without forceful persuasion and free from vague analogies. I learned a new perspective on facing adversity with meaningful optimism, even though there is no obvious reason to feel good about. One of my greatest takeaways is the quote of Nietzsche which Dr. Frankl mentioned in this book “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.” This is so inspiring and yet pragmatic that you would be fired up to follow your life to fullest.
Cons
The writing style of the book is somewhat bit technical. In the second part, he explains the logotherapy in brief which gives us the idea about the main tenants and application of logotherapy. Although the part was not originally included in the original book, the brief introduction was added to clarify the doubt of reader on logotherapy. Although it all nicely wraps the book, I felt that the explanation can be a bit simple with an additional example to help readers to absorb information.
Opinion
I came across the book title through Mark Manson’s book list where he has a list of books that inspired him to write his blog and book. After reading the book I felt content that I got to read this book and understand the principles. The text can be a bit boring but it was worthwhile and useful information. I am looking forward to reading other contents of Victor Frankl to understand logotherapy in a holistic manner.
Conclusion
Anybody who wants to learn about holocaust will benefit from this book. It will also help you to learn a brief about the logotherapy. To understand his principle and its application in brief you should read the third part of the book. For those, who are looking for a theoretical aspect of logotherapy can refer to other works of Victor E. Frankl. Overall, it’s a great book.

View all my reviews