Looking for more meaning in your life? Want to know what makes your life worth living? Want to read about a Holocaust survivor’s way of finding the strength to survive in the concentration camps? Then Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is for you!
About the Author
Viktor Frankl was from Vienna, Austria, and died in 1997. He was an Auschwitz survivor and came up with the theory of logotherapy, which means healing through meaning.
Frankl also wrote 39 books in his lifetime, the most popular book is Man’s Search for Meaning. Let’s chat about his most popular book:
Why You Should Read This Book
This book can help you find your “why”
Frankl talks about knowing why you are living, helps you get through some tough shit. “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how,” he said in this book. This means that if you know your purpose in life, you can get through the rough times easier.
He said that he witnessed fellow prisoners in concentration camps losing their “why” and he said people didn’t have much strength to keep going after that.
Frankl was not given enough food, didn’t have proper shoes for the weather, was beaten and he watched other Auschwitz prisoners die around him. Even though his existence during that time is something most of us will never be able to fully comprehend, he still had hope and his “why.”
He explains that all people need to find meaning in suffering and find meaning in their lives. He said there were two different kinds of prisoners in the camps: ones that lost faith and ones that still had faith.
On the other hand, you might be interested in reading our book review on Men’s Work by Paul Kivel.
This book can help you see a different perspective
While reading this book, it changed my perspective on how tough life actually could be. Frankl and the other prisoners barely had anything to eat and they worked pretty much all day and night.
He said that a typical day for food could be a piece of bread and some broth. And that the workday was so physically demanding on your body but if you looked sick or weak, you were beaten. If you stopped working, you were beaten.
I changed my perspective on life and realized how good I had it after reading this book. Frankl explains that bad things will happen to you and you can’t change that, but you can change your reaction and perspective on that situation. Your attitude is everything.
This book talks about how important love is
His mother, father, brother, and wife all died in the camps. How did he find the strength to keep going? Frankl describes the importance of love and how powerful it is for humans.
“But my mind clung to my wife’s image, imaging it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.” On the other hand, we have reviewed another book which might interest you, titled: Let your Life Speak by Parker Palmer.
In Summary
Not only does this book teach you how important it is to find your “why,” but it also teaches you how to change your perspective in tricky situations. If you are needing help finding your purpose in life, this book would be beneficial to read.
Our Mensgroups Can Help
You could also check out one of our men’s groups where we talk about finding our life’s purpose. Visit our website, Men’s Group to learn more.
