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Man's Search for Meaning

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Man's Search for Meaning

Written by: Viktor E. Frankl
Narrated by: Theo Solomon
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About this listen

As relevant today as it was when it was first published, Man’s Search for Meaning is a book for finding strength and purpose in times of great despair.

“This is a book I reread a lot … it gives me hope … it gives me a sense of strength.”—Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360/CNN

Viktor E. Frankl was a medical doctor at a psychiatric hospital in 1942 when he became a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps in World War II. In 1946, he published this book about his camp experiences and a method of psychotherapy he developed. Forty-five years later, it was still named one of the most influential books in the United States.

Part One describes his three years in four Nazi concentration camps, which took the lives of his wife, father, mother, and brother. He closely observed inmates’ reactions to their situation, as well as how survivors came to terms with their liberation.

Part Two, introducing logotherapy, is an academic discussion of the psychological reactions experienced by all inmates to one degree or another. It solidified Frankl’s early theory that humanity’s primary motivational force is finding meaning in one’s life.

In Germany, titled Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager, or A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camp, its title in the first English translation was From Death-Camp to Existentialism. As of 2022, this book has sold 16 million copies and been published in 52 languages.

©1959, 1962, 1984, 1992, 2006 Viktor E. Frankl (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing
Judaism Mental Health Psychology Prisoners of War United States Marriage
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Pure Human Knowledge

This is evolved messaging in a world that needs it the more than ever. I'm thankful for my personal growth after reading this.

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This book gave me hope

All I can say is wow. Just, wow. This is my second time reading this book, the first was at the beginning of the pandemic. At the time I was feeling hopeless, that all my efforts were for nothing. I thought I was seeing the worst of humanity. This book put things into perspective for me, that no matter what I was going through it was nothing compared to what Dr. Frankel had to go through. And if he could maintain hope through the worst parts of the war, that I could maintain hope to get through the pandemic. This book taught me the value of hope, and how to cultivate it in my life. When he talked about how “a man with the proper why can bear almost any how”, it taught me how to not let things get me down and how to overcome adversity. Any time I forget this, I read the book again and feel reinvigorated. It hands down was the book that added the most value to my life, my career, friendships, family, and every other aspects of my circumstances. This book is good for everyone to read, but most importantly good for those who wake up every morning struggling with a sense of apathy when it comes to how their life is turning out.

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Definitely not a self-help book

This book was recommended by my therapist and while my heart goes out to what the author had to go through, I just could not connect with this book at all. This is definitely not a self-help book, it's an autobiography.

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Boring and irrelevant

99% of the telling is the author's personal experience in a German concentration camp overloaded with unnecessary details and drama.

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