Yes to Life
In Spite of Everything
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4.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Find hope even in these dark times with this rediscovered masterpiece, a companion to his international bestseller Man’s Search for Meaning.
Eleven months after he was liberated from the Nazi concentration camps, Viktor E. Frankl held a series of public lectures in Vienna. The psychiatrist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience, and the importance of embracing life even in the face of great adversity.
Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl’s words resonate as strongly today—as the world faces a coronavirus pandemic, social isolation, and great economic uncertainty—as they did in 1946. He offers an insightful exploration of the maxim “Live as if you were living for the second time,” and he unfolds his basic conviction that every crisis contains opportunity. Despite the unspeakable horrors of the camps, Frankl learned from the strength of his fellow inmates that it is always possible to “say yes to life”—a profound and timeless lesson for us all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Based on three public lectures delivered in Vienna in 1946, this slim, powerful collection from Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning) attests to life's meaning, even in desperate circumstances. Coming less than a year after Frankl's liberation from Auschwitz, Frankl's writings address a postwar "spiritually bombed out" audience that knows the evils of which humanity is capable. Frankl (1905 1997) claims that it is not humanity's role to question life's meaning, but rather it's life that demands people reflect on their purpose. Frankl posits three ways in which humans find meaning: through work; through experiencing nature, art, or love; and through how they accept unwelcome circumstances. He offers an example of a patient of his who lived a meaningful life: a graphic designer who had fallen ill and, no longer able to work, enjoyed reading and music; when dying, he asked for his final morphine shot at the doctor's convenience, thus thinking of others at his last hour. An afterward by Frank Vesely, Frankl's son-in-law, attests to how Frankl's own sense of purpose helped him survive both the Holocaust and subsequent losses. This lovely work transcends its original context, offering wisdom and guidance.
