Man's Search for Meaning (OLD EDITION/OUT OF PRINT) Paperback – June 1, 2006

It's not exactly a review but some thoughts after reading this book and observing current events.Can you imagine life being upended in a matter of weeks? You were forced to board a train to Auschwitz for a new life of unknowns. When you arrived, you were either directed to the left or to the right. You and your family were separated. You were instructed to go right while the rest of your family were instructed to go left. The life for the right group turned out to be half a decade of dehumanizing tortures. As for the left group, they were murdered within 24 hours of arrival to Auschwitz. You learned about the fate of the left group by realizing what all the smokes were rising above the structure your family went into. I was in shock and disbelief when I read about this in Man’s Search for Meaning but this crazy thing DID happen 80 years ago, just a few years before my parents were born. How could this world be so barbaric?Before Auschwitz, most people were living a fairly normal life worrying about paying their bills, raising their family, advancing their careers, etc just like us ordinary beings today. People know there’s war but I doubt people thought about how they could be swallowed by the wars in a matter of weeks started by sinister people who only care about their own power. The whole thing is just insane and ridiculous and you would hope humanity learned its lessons. Nonetheless, 80 years later, we are back to square one. The war in Ukraine is ruthless and absurd. It destroyed a country where hardworking people falsely thought they could live in peace and prosperity. The Russian soldiers are asked to invade and to do cruel things Putin asked them to do: murdering, vandalizing, setting things on fire and destructing instructures that took years to build. I don’t think these Russian soldiers out of their own will would want to do this. What exactly is this evil power force making people do crazy and destructive things? Is it really just Putin? Or somehow our world allows this to happen.This reminds me of the story Haruki Murakami wrote about his father. His father was forced to go to China to fight the war for Japan during WWII. He was a 19 year-old, having grown up in a Buddha temple in Kyoto. Despite the Buddhist teachings, he was forced to go to war by the government. His father witnessed the killing of Chinese prisoners of war and might even be forced to do the executions. Part of the military training at the time was for new soldiers to practice killing POW to get them into “the zone”, to become a competent fighter. His father told Murakami about this and this made a huge impression on him. He could sense his father was deeply affected by this experience for the rest of his life, with grief and guilt. After all, he was complicit. But he as an individual had no choice. If the government forced him to choose war, he could not choose peace instead. If the government goes completely insane, we as citizens have no recourse.As I am typing this up, I am wondering how long the peaceful life we have in America would last. Three months ago most Ukrainian people probably couldn’t imagine what lay ahead. Should I worry about my family in Taiwan? Things can change drastically in a very short period of time. My husband and his family left Vietnam in 1982 to escape communism. They endured several years of communism rule and my father in law was jailed for a couple of years for “helping Americans”. Prior to the communist takeover, the family ran a large rice mill and owned a substantial amount of prime real estate in Saigon. Then Americans left. Overnight they lost all their assets to the communist regime. They went from a materially rich life to a life of hunger and partial homelessness. Young women had to hide to avoid being raped. My mother in law sold her gold jewelry in the black market to get her husband out of jail and the family escaped to America penniless. Who is responsible for all the sufferings? They did nothing wrong. They were hardworking people running an honest business. Perhaps they didn’t pay enough attention to international politics. But the price they had to pay was absurdly high.We individuals are so small and powerless we don’t know what current of our crazy time can swallow us despite our innocence and futile efforts. The thought that we are in control is an illusion. When I think about the great suffering in Auschwitz, China, Vietnam and endless other man-made tragedies, I am so grateful for the peaceful time I still live in and whatever worries I have seem so trivial. If we strive for anything for the world, we should strive for peace.

A classic that never disappoints. Ordered new copy for my collection. Can't ho wrong if a gift os needed too.Great book that has stood the hands of time.

I recently completed a master's in counseling and guidance and have been reading to find a set of books that will best address some of the disorders in the DSM-IV. Following is a list I have put together from my reading so far, and these are books that I would HIGHLY recommend. I would like to say up front that the DSM-IV is full of very normal behaviors that for some reason have become magnified or exaggerated in an individual to the point of causing a negative impact in their daily lives. Take OCD for example, it is quite normal and even preferable (from a safety perspective) to check and be sure that one has turned off all the burners on the stove after cooking, or to be sure the back door is locked before going to bed. But to continue checking time and again would be problematic and can lead to problems in an individual's life. Something is diagnosed as a disorder when it moves from being a "normal" activity to being something that causes dysfunction in daily living. So, one may read the DSM-IV and see themselves reflected in many of the disorders. The question is always: is this behavior negatively impacting my life? If so then that is when it crosses the line of normal and needs to be treated.Depression; I believe there are two sources for depression: one source is our own minds, we think ourselves into the depression - at least in this case we know where it is coming from and we should be able to step behind our thoughts and help ourselves move in a better direction. The other source seemingly comes from nowhere; one minute we are okay and the next we are thrown into the depths* Book = "Transforming Depression: Healing the Soul Through Creativity"- David H. Rosen"o I would recommend reading this at least through chapter 4, going further than that delves into some deep Jungian psychology which will not likely appeal to everyone. I certainly enjoy Jungian psychology and believe that Jung's work will become more and more important and critical to our understanding as we move forward in this field of psychology. Jung's psychology is really on the borderland between spirit/soul and the science of psychology and it is Jung's work that brought me into this field. However it is quite complex/deep/different and may lose some readers. For a very good intro to Jung's work, I would recommend "The Essential Jung" by Anthony Storr, but this is not light reading as is composed of excerpts from Jung's collected works.* Book = "Man's Search for Meaning" - Viktor Franklo I would recommend this book for two primary reasons: one is it pushes very strongly the message that meaning is essential in our lives - as shown through Victor Frankl's imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps. Frankl comments on how he observed the individuals who gave up the fight and died, and the individuals who persevered - and most importantly what it was that he believes made the difference. The other reason I recommend this book is that it helps the individuals whose thoughts may have led them to depression to realize that things could be worse. Of course there are devastations we may face that can truly be to us, just as bad as a Nazi concentration camps, but for the most part, we often push ourselves into depression for reasons that are somewhat superficial compared to other realities.Depersonalization Disorder - essentially feeling like you are not really there* Book = "Feeling Unreal: Depersonalization Disorder and the Loss of the Self" - Daphne Simeon and Jeffrey Abugelo Excellent book which will help folks understand this disorder. This is for me a very interesting disorder, I think this is one disorder where the connection between our ego consciousness and perhaps what we are at a much deeper level is challenged. Normally we are locked into full belief in our reality - we believe we are very much a part of it and that we "are" the body in which we reside. This disorder forces us to question if we are the body we think we are. It would appear that whatever piece of our mind is keeping us in full belief is breaking down a bit, leaving us a bit outside of the "normal" feeling of being the body. Folks with this disorder can actually worry that they do not have control of their body and that this body may do something they do not want it to do. Driving a car for example can be quite traumatic if you think your body may be acting without your input.Bipolar disorder - the book I am recommending is focused on Bipolar II disorder - essentially swinging from manic (very happy and carefree) to severe depression. This book was actually required reading during the Masters program* Book = "An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness" by Kay Redfield Jamisono Excellent book written by a psychologist who suffers from this disorder. This book helps to understand the importance of medication for this disorder, as well as the path of destruction that can easily be paved during carefree, manic episodes.ADHD (attention deficit disorder)* Book = "Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates And What You Can Do About It" - Gabor Mateo This is not just a great book for folks with ADHD, but for everyone - as many of the lessons here translate to all of us. This is an extremely excellent book on ADHD and living in general.OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)* Book = "Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals: The Hidden Epidemic of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" - Ian Osborno Excellent book on OCD - this book will help individuals with OCD as well as those who know someone with the disorder - to understand what is happening in the mind of a person with this disorder. This book will also help OCD folks realize that they are not alone and that many of the rituals or compulsions are shared by other folks with OCD.That is all for now, but I am still reading