Staff Review: Man's Search for Meaning

Title/Author: Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl

Genre(s): Psychology, Therapy, Philosophy

Psychologist Viktor Frankl’s vivid description of the Nazi death camps and his experience of survival and loss is captured in this classic biography.  Frankl was born in 1902 in Vienna, Austria and trained as a psychologist until the dawning of the Holocaust.  Surviving in four death camps through the war, Frankl lost his parents, pregnant wife, and brother.  Man’s Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in contemporary culture, shifting the cultural focus of life away from a pure drive for pleasure towards a drive for meaningful living.

Reviewed by: Ben

Staff Review: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts

Title/Author: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts – Gabor Mate

Genre(s): Addiction, Self Help, Therapy

Gabor Mate, MD is a towering figure in the field of addictions.  His work has helped to bring to light the realities of addiction through research of the various ways it shows up.  In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts is an expose which smashes the common assumptions, stereotypes, and biases in society and recasts addiction less as a moral failing and more as a symptom of trauma.

Reviewed by: Ben

Staff Review: Nonviolent Communication

Title/Author: Non-Violent Communication – Marshall B. Rosenberg

Genre(s): Self Help, Therapy, Psychology

Rosenberg harnesses the power of non-violence to show a way of communicating that removes blame, increases mutual empathy, and challenges us to be clear with our needs.  A classic in the field of communication studies and psychotherapy, Rosenberg’s NVC method draws from a lifetime of clinical experience and challenges fundamental assumptions of the nature of emotions and feelings.

Reviewed by: Ben