Man’s Search for Meaning is a 1946 memoir and work of popular psychology. It details the author, Viktor Frankl’s, experience in a concentration camp and his attempts to overcome and understand the trauma of that experience. Through these autobiographical details, Frankl introduces logotherapy, the psychotherapeutic theory for which he would become famous, and explores themes of Finding Meaning in Extreme Conditions, Faith as an Expression of Humanity’s Deepest Impulses, and The Importance of Moral Choice. The book is in three parts: “Experiences in a Concentration Camp,” “Logotherapy in a Nutshell,” and “Postscript 1984: The Case for Tragic Optimism.”

This guide is based on the 1992 Beacon Press 4th edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of religious discrimination, racism, death, graphic violence, physical abuse, substance use, and mental illness.

Plot Summary

The first half of the book is a description and interpretation of the concentration camp experiences that Frankl underwent during the war. He survived against formidable odds thanks to both luck and a fierce will to live.  

After the war, Frankl returned to his work in psychotherapy profoundly influenced by the question of how he and others he knew in the camps had managed to maintain their will to live. He wondered what kept them alive and functioning in conditions in which millions died in hopeless despair. 

This examination of the ultimate questions of life and death led Frankl to develop a whole new branch of psychotherapy that went beyond the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud—which is rooted in the idea that humans are motivated by the drive for pleasure—and Alfred Adler—which is rooted in the idea that humans are driven to seek power. The author describes his methods of “logotherapy” in great detail in the second part of the book.

The title of the book encapsulates what Frankl learned from being in a concentration camp, starved, beaten, overworked, and constantly threatened with death. Frankl came to realize that humans can and will survive even the most extreme conditions if they have a strong reason to live: a purpose or meaning in life that motivates them. 

The author describes three versions of the meaning of life throughout the book: the effort to achieve, the motivation provided by love, and the courage and dignity of the human spirit in the face of suffering.



In Frankl’s own case, he found meaning in his work. Specifically, when he was arrested he had a draft manuscript of his theory on psychotherapy with him. The papers were confiscated, but he thought about his writing often and made efforts to preserve it by taking shorthand notes on scraps of paper. Second, Frankl often thought about his deep love for his wife and hoped to see her again after the war. Third, Frankl witnessed many acts of heroism and sacrifice in the camp that reminded him of humanity’s goodness and inspired him to persevere.