This has been on my TR list for years. My former student, Noah, spoke often of its impact on him, and just recently Andrewblackman.net posted a review, so it seemed like the right time to pick it up. 

The political world is bleak, the dissemination of misinformation and propaganda is frightening, and as a recent retiree, identity and meaning suddenly feel less clear.

So it’s been a good time to study Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning which describes both the horrific conditions at various concentration camps and his means of survival. Even before he arrived at Auschwitz, he believed and taught that life is a quest for meaning, and that we find meaning “primarily in our work (doing something significant), in love (caring for others/another), and in courage during difficult times” (Foreward X). And that forces beyond our control can take everything away that we possess except our freedom to choose how we’ll respond to a situation.  

His practice of logotherapy is “less introspective and retrospective, and instead focuses on the future.” It’s a focus on attitude and making active choices that bring meaning and that move us forward. Far more than power or pleasure, the driving force in humans, according to Frankl, is striving to find meaning. 

If he could muster up the power to search for meaning while trying to stay alive in a concentration camp, surely his advice and attitude apply to those of us living much easier lives today. It’s a reminder that I’m in control of my blah days and my blah moods and that I can find meaning by doing significant things, caring for others, and staying courageous in difficult times.   

At times a bit repetitive and a little textbook-y, but still a mighty powerful book. 4.5⭐️