This is not merely a man's recollection of the horrors he endured whilst imprisoned in German concentration camps during World War II. If that is the only thing you extract from this book, you did not pay proper attention.

The book primarily consist of two parts, opening with the author's experiences in concentration camps which not only leads to, but also supports, the second part focusing on logotherapy - a type of psychotherapy which has been called the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy. Opposing the doctrines of Adler's will to power and Freud's will to pleasure, logotherapy focuses on will to meaning and is based more in existentialism, which really appealed to me. The two parts of the book should be gazed upon as two fundamental pillars supporting an arch - the meaning of the book.

Dr. Frankl's words on suffering are definitely what stood out the most to me, and they are among the things you'll be exposed to in this first part of the book. The author does a great job separating himself from the proceedings, not making it about him specifically, but just as much his observations. He applies this style throughout this chapter as he takes said observations and use them as a groundwork for applying psychological terms, which makes it very engaging instead of just telling stories of horror. For example, Frankl asserts that most inmates go through three phases, with the first being the initial shock of being in a concentration camp; the second is a phase of apathy as a sort of coping mechanism when "accustomed" to camp life; the third being the psychology of the inmate if liberated and freed, which could lead to depersonalization, disillusionment, bitterness, and other states of mind.

I was treated with many compelling and noteworthy instances in this book which truly made me think about life. Dr. Frankl puts forth a very striking analogy between gas chambers and human suffering in that if a certain amount of gas is pumped into a chamber, no matter its size, it will be filled. The suffering fills the human no matter its size, great or little, therefore suffering is absolutely relative. That, to me, was a very powerful way of painting a picture of our sufferings, and that we should not judge other's suffering or empower our own to be greater than that of others. Whilst meaning cannot be boiled down to a general recipe for all of us, the author writes that we find meaning every day in how we approach opportunities, suffering, relationships and more. What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you, as Frankl said in a little speech to his comrades in Auschwitz. This was also the place where, one night, he was awakened by another prisoner who had a nightmare. Usually, our instinct would be to wake someone, which Frankl was about to do as well, but he then stopped. Realizing that what horror the prisoner dreamt of could match the living horror of the concentration camp.

The second part of the book, entitled "Logotherapy in a Nutshell" which indeed is a bit too "nutshelly" - too much of an overview. It tends to just rapid fire the different concepts of logotherapy at you in mind-numbing succession. This may differ depending on the reader, as I believe someone with great knowledge of psychology would see it as a light breeze, however, my level is more rudimentary. It could've done with dwelling a bit more on each concept, fleshing it out a bit more, putting some space in-between all the technical terms, so you get more of a grasp of each section. All of this does not mean it is without merit, far from it, just take it slow, as there's still golden nuggets to put in your pocket, and each concept is interesting. Some of them can just be a bit hard to digest. I particularly enjoyed the parts on love, collective neurosis, and the existential vacuum to mention a few.

My edition of the book also featured a 1992 preface by Dr. Frankl, or Number 119,104 as his "name" was in the camps, and ends with a small chapter based on a lecture he presented in 1983, focusing on tragic optimism. Each of the two are worthy additions to the book, functioning as both the opening, and the drawing of the curtains, as if the start and end of a great presentation.

"Man's Search for Meaning" just falls short of having a grandiose impact on me, not necessarily because of shortcomings, but what I've read and been exposed to prior to my unfolding of this book, so I always already familiar with some of the concepts, only told differently. With that being said, I will still highly recommend reading this book as it still is very applicable in today's pleasure-seeking digital world, which became glaringly obvious to me during the Covid lockdowns. This was when a sizeable portion of people ran out of things to watch on their arbitrary streaming platform to entertain and paralyse them, suddenly they were left with themselves, their own existential vacuum.
They could very well have benefitted from reading this book and its many gripping moments, and thus I will end with a few words of wisdom from Dr. Viktor E. Frankl: "[...] A human is a finite thing, and his freedom is restricted. It is not freedom from conditions, but it is freedom to take a stand toward the conditions. As I once put it: As a professor in two fields, neurology and psychiatry, I am fully aware of the extent to which man is subject to biological, psychological and sociological conditions. But in addition to being a professor in two fields I am a survivor of four camps - concentration camps, that is - and as such I also bear witness to the unexpected extent to which man is capable of defying and braving even the worst conditions conceivable." ( )

Just read this for the second time and it has the rare accomplishment of being just as powerful a reading experience as it was when I first read it. Do not be discouraged by seeing how popular this work is, it is not some vapid self-help twaddle that can be easily lumped in with the other works that likely surround it in various bookshops across the world. It really is something special that stands as a testament to the inherent meaning of life that can be uncovered in even the most dire circumstances.

There is a small passage that I must have overlooked in my first reading that discusses love, it is possibly one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever read pertaining to that subject. I’m not ashamed to admit it produced a couple of tears from yours truly. I would highly recommend this work if you haven’t read it already. ( )

It unveils many perspectives of a human life. ( )

Somewhere I read that this was a helpful book to read while coping with the covid pandemic. His memoir of his time in the concentration camps was revealing and devastating while also tinged with hope and humor. But the second part about logotherapy went way over my head. The jacket copy pretty much distilled it in a couple of sentences, but I'll probably do a little research to get a firmer idea of what logotherapy is. ( )

Every account of the Holocaust is sad and disturbing but this one feels different. The author writes his story as if he hovered above it all and observed. His take on life really makes you think and it's amazing how he explains why some of us keep pushing forward even in our darkest times. The only reason I've given three stars is because I got a bit lost at the end when he describes terms pertaining to psychology. Overall though, this book is another account of a horror we must never forget, an account that all of us should read and understand so that we may be able to prevent history from repeating itself. One never knows what dreadful things are lurking just around the corner. We must never forget. ( )