I haven't previously read anything by Viktor E. Frankl, but when I saw Embracing Hope: On Freedom, Responsibility & The Meaning of Life, I was intrigued. I've also been going through a rather difficult time right now, and embracing hope sounded like something worth reading.
Embracing Hope is a collection of four essays, lectures, and interviews of Frankl that were never previously published in the United States. There's a lecture from 1984 that Frankl gave in Austria, A 1977 interview with Frankl from Man Alive, a television show on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. An article from 1955, and another lecture from 1946 in Austria. All four pieces touch on finding meaning in life, even when life is difficult. The pieces also touch on issues that are still very topical in today's world such as the fear and fracturing of society into different tribes who do not want to work together.
I really enjoyed both the first lecture and the interview from Man Alive. Frankl had a really great outlook on finding meaning, that, while suffering does lead to meaning, no one should be voluntarily suffering (one of his examples was: if you have a tumor that can be operated on, you should get the operation! Don't suffer needlessly). Humans are driven to find meaning in their lives, and, once found, humans are capable of bearing incredible hardships for that meaning.
He also spoke in most of these texts about saving your accomplishments in the past. The past is a safe place for them: for they cannot be taken away from you once they are there. I really liked that idea, and have used it without really realizing it before. :)
While overall I enjoyed this book, I will admit I had a hard time understanding the final text. It seemed much more dense than the other three. And also seemed to jump around a bit (there were a few places where I didn't really understand his conclusion to a point because it felt like he leapt from one thing to another). For that reason, I think this book will probably benefit from being reread at some point in the future, to better digest this lecture (and any other points I may not have understood in the other three texts).
