Interesting Family History & Life Advice
This wasn’t as substantial and insightful as I had hoped, but it was a decent read. Oshman identifies a different Hebrew word in each chapter and then provides a brief explanation and incorporates specific examples from her life to illustrate what the concept actually means in practice. She does relate some interesting details from her own life. She has a unique background and a connection to the Holocaust; it seems her family history and the memories they share about this experience still impact her. This isn’t something I can personally relate to, but I think the point is that everything that happens not only in our own life but also what we are exposed to in the recalling from others has a profound impact on how we live our lives, including the choices we make and the anxiety or other mental health issues that may arise because of these shared memories.
While I did appreciate learning more about Oshman’s experiences and those of her family, I didn’t feel like it really gave me much of significance in terms of my own life. She has some good advice, but it just feels so connected to the effects of the Holocaust and her own personal experiences that it lacks that idea of universal truths. She does recommend reading Man’s Search for Meaning, and that has been on my list for a few years, so it has now moved up even further on my “must read” list. In it, Frankl writes about people finding meaning even in such dire circumstances as the Holocaust presented. Oshman concurs with Frankl that each of us has a soul that desires meaning and that the purpose of life is to find our soul’s own unique potential. She also argues that we need to stop being selfish and find fulfillment in helping others and that it’s important to discover our own strengths if we really want to achieve our potential. One quote that really stuck with me is this: “If events are telling you that certain things are not yours to have, maybe it’s time to move forward, without fear, and discover what you are here to do” (p.61). That seems like really good advice to me.
While I did appreciate learning more about Oshman’s experiences and those of her family, I didn’t feel like it really gave me much of significance in terms of my own life. She has some good advice, but it just feels so connected to the effects of the Holocaust and her own personal experiences that it lacks that idea of universal truths. She does recommend reading Man’s Search for Meaning, and that has been on my list for a few years, so it has now moved up even further on my “must read” list. In it, Frankl writes about people finding meaning even in such dire circumstances as the Holocaust presented. Oshman concurs with Frankl that each of us has a soul that desires meaning and that the purpose of life is to find our soul’s own unique potential. She also argues that we need to stop being selfish and find fulfillment in helping others and that it’s important to discover our own strengths if we really want to achieve our potential. One quote that really stuck with me is this: “If events are telling you that certain things are not yours to have, maybe it’s time to move forward, without fear, and discover what you are here to do” (p.61). That seems like really good advice to me.