"Man's Search for Meaning"
By Victor Frankl
Of all the books capturing the horror alongside the strength of human nature apparent from the Holocaust, this one has to be one of the most heartfelt and influential.
Very few books can claim to potentially change an entire life outlook of its readers like it does.
Partly because it describes what so many brave but unfortunate souls had to endure in concentration camps in a way that resonates without being too graphic.
But also because it is ultimately is a story of hope and heroics against remarkably short odds of survival which clearly and accessibly explains the psychological strategies and techniques used by survivors to come through the most dreadful, traumatic and tragic of circumstances.
At a relatively short 155 pages long, it's impact is all the more striking and humbling in equal measure. Its messages and coping techniques stay with the reader long after they turn the final page.
And whatever challenges a reader faces in their own life, this book furnishes a vital StressBusting™ reference point and tool in the form of a context within which to assess how anxious and uncertain you may be feeling, after you have perhaps measured your own Stress Management Index™ using the tools contained in our post entitled "Have an SMI™ (Stress Management Index™) to accompany your BMI"
Bexause while worry and anxiety are relative to each individual, it is virtually impossible to argue that one's circumstances appear seemingly so hopeless or drastic as those who are the subject matter of this addictive page turner.
And if the coping strategies of the survivors described worked amid the vicissitudes of a concentration camp, they can most surely be applied successfully to day to day stressful events.
Book Score : 9/10 - outstanding