Jennie Jacques Instagram – My great Grandparents fleed Poland during WW1 (1914-1918) They arrived in England & swiftly changed their last name. This book holds personal space in my heart ♥️ & no doubt many others. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Frankl, the author, an Austrian Psychiatrist, survived Auschwitz. If you don’t get goose pimples reading this, further educate yourself on the history of the holocaust, WW2 (1939-1945) “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Starved, exhausted, persecuted (& if one is lucky enough to escape getting gassed) a brutal (& totally unnecessary) end persisted highly likely to prevail. “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behaviour.” Frankl speaks from a place, most readers will never know. Approx 85% sent to this “extermination camp” were killed; Frankl, lived. Hundreds of thousands of human beings murdered & tortured & eventually millions (yes, millions) more, as the Nazis carried out their systemic murder, the “final solution.” I am sickened, sickened. There are no words. Yet, Frankl somehow uses his to renew faith & reinforce the “hope” we all, as human beings, must cling to, in any given situation. Profound statements throughout strike the chord of your soul. Frankl found beauty & humour at times when all appeared lost. Despite everything he not only highlights the good in humankind but inspires his reader(s) on how to strive to be the best version of oneself. First half is an account of his experiences within the camp, second focuses on his personal gift to psychology – Logotherapy; the importance & ultimately the “motivational force” behind the meaning of life; “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.’” This is a book about love, fear, suffering, mental health, what it means to be human & a super power; HOPE.