Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy

I do recognize the importance of such a book. I found the first part really interesting and enlightening.

I don’t plan on reading the second part at the moment, because of the criticism that has been brought upon Logotherapy by numerous psychologists and the lack of scientific evidence to support some of the claims.

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grimmworld's review against another edition

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I just could not handle reading a 1st hand account of the horrors of being a Jewish person in a concentration camp. This was touted as a inspirational memoir, & I have no doubt it is, but if you have any form of depression, this takes you to a dark place, you don't need to be there.

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joeb94's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

"In the past, nothing is irretrievably lost but everything irrevocably stored". This is my favorite quote from this books. This book can be broken into three parts.
The first part, introduces us to the author's life in the concentration camps he found himself placed into. This part was both informative and heart-breaking. The author however focused on describing people's struggles and feelings without any gory details which kept the focus on exactly what he wanted. He also showed examples of how even in a harsh situation as finding urself in a concentration camp, you can find good men on both sides of yhe spectrum.
The second part, the authors breaks down his theory and explain its pillars. Its easy to follow with actual cases he dealt with used as an example to explain each one of them.
The last part was dedicated to an American pioneer in longotherapy.
Overall, this book was very insightful and felt really motivated. In an age, where people love to rely on "trauma" to explain bad behaviour, it is nice to read a psychological book that gives power to humans. That a human always makes choices and has the ability to control his choices regardless of his background.

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samdalefox's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

It feels crass to rate this book. How can anyone give a score hearing a person's experience of the Holocaust, and detailing their own psychiatric field of work? I have expertise and lived experience in neither. However, I have given this 5 stars nonetheless.

The book was recommended by my mental health counsellor, highlighting Frankl's finding and assertion that the only thing a person has control over, is their attitude to their circumstances. This aspect has certainly helped me in my own mental health work.

Unlike some of the other reviews, I enjoyed the second part of the book as much as the first. (I read the 80's edition). This may be because of my medical science background and interest in psychiatry. I found Frankl's way of describing his personal experiences almost objectively, quite comforting and appealed to my natural way of thinking. Although the field has developed since his writing, I found it very interesting learning about logotherapy and found it complemented my interest in existentialism. I do think some of the observations he makes are still very relevant today, especially his comments relating to existential boredom.

The first part of the book where he describes his experiences in concentration camps was, of course, difficult to read. However this is the first time I've 'enjoyed' (for lack of a better word) reading about the Holocaust. Previous historical iterations from secondary sources always had the whiff of political war propaganda to me. Frankl's lived experience retelling has no such endorsement of war. What was significant for me, was he not only described his and other's various suffering, but attempted to explain it too. E.g. Why the prisoners and guards reacted in the ways they did. How their psychology and identity was affected as well as their physical health. Frankl goes through each stage of the prisoner's psychological response to his trauma.

Overall, a harrowing, but important read. I think it has the potential to help many people. Maybe be more compassionate to others, maybe employ some logotherapy principles to their own life, maybe become more consciously opposed to war.

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edgario's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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margztgz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This is an absolutely phenomenal work, and I'm so glad to finally have read this. I think everyone should read this book, especially those feeling lost in life or those who have gone through very difficult and traumatic events. Man's Search for Meaning is incredibly inspiring and I truly love everything about this book, it was perfectly done. Frankl manages to address both uncomfortable topics on a personal level and a broader historical level in a poignant yet necessary way. I do not think a single word or sentence was irrelevant, and I was entranced the whole time. I will definitely be coming back to this for guidance, and I nearly underlined the whole book.

Frankl has the unique voice of a poet, survivor, psychologist, and philosopher all rolled into one. I feel absolutely touched, and will now genuinely be readjusting my entire outlook on life. One of my favorite books I have read this year, to be sure. Everyone, please pick this up at least once!

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sophie_visentin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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