Response - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review The main idea in the book “Man’s search for meaning” is to give a perspective and techniques for a person to use and find meaning in his or her life. Victor Frankl wrote the book in an autobiographical style. He issues the reader with a lot of experience he had from his imprisonment in Nazi concentration camp. He uses a descriptive language to give a clear picture of the ordeal that he received in the concentration camp. While Frankl is discussing about the experiences in the camp he notes that there is great deal of attention that he gives to the first psychological phase that is characterized by shock.

In the book Frankl and almost each prisoner experience “delusion of deprive”-he and his fellow prisoners saw many sent to the gas chambers and watched others die from malnourishment, lack of medical care and frequent torture, there was still hope in them that they were going to be saved. Suicide became prominent when the delusion of deprive was eliminated. This point led to the second face of psychological reaction, apathy, as a means of coping with the constant abuse. Joy and suffering are relative concepts as Frankl denotes, and meaning will be determined by the manner in which individuals relate to their experiences and expectations.

He also indicates that people have the ability to choose what will become of them mentally and spiritually. The third phase that Frankl discusses is the one that happens when one is liberated from the camp. He says that freedom is a dreamlike state of mind that is difficult.The second section of the book talks about Logotherapy in a nutshell. He outlines a theory of Logotherapy as a technique for helping people. He says that the therapy is the only forms of therapy that can help people discover the meaning of life.

The meaning of life can be discovered in three ways; first, one can perform a deed and. Second one can experience something or encounter something and thirdly one can demonstrate a certain attitude towards suffering. In the final section Frankl talks about “the case of a tragic optimism,” this means that a person is naturally optimistic even in the face of extremely negative circumstance.Marya and some of the Refrew girls were experiencing eating disorders; I can use Frankl’s meaning of life to help them combat the challenge.

The second part of the book that talks about Logotherapy in a nutshell can be of great use. I would strongly advice Marya and the other girls to first follow the first step of performing a deed. This is meant to make them make an effort to combat the situation. The other step is I would encourage and motivate them to encounter someone they feel much related to e.g. a close family member. The other one is to make them experience a positive attitude towards their suffering (eating disorder). This will enable the girls to develop an optimistic attitude in all means to combat the eating disorder.

References Viktor E. Frankl (2006), Mans Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy Fourth edition, Beacon Press