Who Doesn't Love a Classic? discussion

Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor E Frankl
Digital audio narrated by Simon Vance
5*****

I first read this book when I was in college and it has remained with me ever since. When a book group hosted by a local university announced this as one of their picks I immediately signed on for the discussion.

This is both a memoir and an inspirational lesson in how to survive and thrive. Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl relates his experiences in Nazi concentration camps and shares the experiences, too, of his patients, to show that, while no one can completely avoid suffering, we can choose HOW to deal with and process those experiences to find meaning and a renewed sense of purpose.

I was struck by a few things that I’d forgotten or overlooked the first time I read it. Frankl had some serendipitous encounters even in the midst of the horrors of the concentration camps. The advice to shave closely, for example, helped him give the appearance of a healthier person, thus saving him from being culled from the group as too weak to work. Additionally, his attitude of acceptance seemed to give him the strength to endure. Over and over again he chose to remain and face his fate, rather than try to escape.

The book is divided into two parts. The first is more memoir of the times he spent in the camps. The second part goes into detail on how he developed and refined his theory of logotherapy. While the second clearly builds on the first, I thought it was less interesting than the memoir section. I found section two more academic rather than personal, and therefore it had less impact.

Simon Vance does a marvelous job reading the audiobook. His diction is clear, and he sets a good pace and an appropriate tone for this serious and insightful work. Still, I did read sections of it in text format, and I think it is best experienced by reading the text.


My full review HERE