blee

There are some books that affect you long after you stop reading them; there are some books that come back to you when you least expect it, and you want to suggest everyone read it at least once... yet you're shy to recommend it to many people because if they don't have the same experience with it you'll feel bad (and likely wonder what the hell is wrong with the recipient, the cold-hearted bastards...). Ahem. This is one of those books for me. It blew my mind about six years ago when it was first recommended to me by a guy who I soon thereafter moved in with and here we are, still together (not solely because of this book, but it didn't hurt when we realized the kinds of conversations we could have). I recommended it recently as the next book for our book club because it's been on my mind a lot lately and I wanted a good reason to re-read it, since lately I've been finding it hard to want to re-read anything (too many books, too little time). Viktor Frankl spent three years in concentration camps during World War II. During his time in the camps he was able to pull from the nightmare the principles behind what he later called logotherapy. In simple terms it's the concept that having meaning in one's life, a goal to work towards, is essential to be able to survive the harshest suffering. It seems like an easy enough concept, but so few people actually practice it; reading this a second time has revitalized the idea in my own mind. I think it's nicely summed up in a footnote: Logotherapy is not imposed on those who are interested in psychotherapy. It is not comparable to an Oriental bazaar but rather to a supermarket. In the former, the customer is talked into buying something. In the latter, he is shown, and offered, various things from which he may pick what he deems usable and valuable. So the real question is: Did Frankl blow my mind in this second reading? Yes.

2022-11-14 17:21