*Grins*
Elizabeth's Guest Post
Hi Carrie! Wonder why you picked the prompt, strength? Does it have something to do with that hot guy on your side bar? Hmm, let’s all take a moment and just stare at Wallace. Sigh. So pretty.
Oh, get to the post you say…all right, all right. Let me shake off the day dreams and get to STRENGTH. As soon as I read your prompt, this man popped into my mind:
This is Viktor Frankl. His book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”, is powerful. It propelled me to switch from psychology to counseling in college…and it changed how I view life. He is the father of logotherapy, or meaning therapy. It breaks away from the “if-then” model of modern psychology.
Mr. Frankl was a Nazis concentration camp survivor. The rest of his family, with the exception of his sister, was killed. He lost his wife, his mother, and his brother to the Holocaust. During his incarceration, he wrote much of the outline for “Man’s Search for Meaning” by hiding bits of paper in the seams of his clothes.
When freed, he faced all he lost with purpose. He had his scraps of notes and a theory. Man is more than a sum of his experiences. We are on this Earth for a reason, created by a higher power to do something. In Frankl’s theory, we’re not dropped here by chance meant to scrape together an existence and then die to nothingness. Each and every one of us has a function and to find mental balance and contentment in life, we have to find a purpose. And everyone, from the street sweep to the president, has one (or many!).
In the book, Frankl points out that man can be stripped of all things, in his case literally everything, and still maintain an optimistic outlook if we accept a simple truth. Only we control how life affects us. We are ultimately responsible for our every decision and action.
There is so much powerful insight in this one book, I could go on forever…but instead, you should just read it for yourself. It’s #2 on my list of reads I’d want if stranded on a deserted island. This book is amazing. This man is amazing. It’s hard to believe he was made of flesh and blood.
A few quotes from Frankl:
- “What is to give light must endure burning.”
- “Life can be pulled by goals as surely as it can be pushed by drives.”
- “When we are no longer able to change a situation- we are challenged to change ourselves.”
About Healing Summer
Maybe Love, Not Time, Heals All Wounds
Ditched at the altar…biopsied for cancer…Mollie Hinkle is having a bona fide bitch of a summer. When life sucks so hard it takes your breath away, what's a girl to do? Pack a bag, grab a few friends, and leave the past and the worry in the rear view mirror. What wounds can’t be healed by a drive across the Heartland, where quarter flips at cross roads determine the route and the future? All roads lead to Craig, the second son and bad boy of the haughty Coulter line. Has fate brought her to the miniscule Montana town to find happily ever after or will it just break her heart?
“Healing Summer” is the second book in the Coulter Men Series.
About the Author
Elizabeth is a former social worker, constant day dreamer, and mother of four fabulous boys. She has two books completed in the Coulter Men series, PAST DUE & HEALING SUMMER. The third, FATE INTENDED, is a work in progress.She also have a house in desperate need of cleaning. No set date on completion.
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Giveaway
P.S. Elizabeth will be posting a link to every stop on her blog tour page, so be sure to check it out and vote for your favorite by commenting on the page. The blogger who thought up the prompt for the winning post will win a $25 gift card. :)
P.P.S. If you have any questions about promotion and/or new adult fiction, stop by EJ's #NALitChat blog this week. I'm hosting #NALitChat Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. EST, and we'll address as many of your questions as humanly possible. :D
Have a great week, guys! ♥
40 comments:
Wise man. We are here for a purpose and our existence is not by chance.
I'm seeing Elizabeth and her book all over Blogdom! Best wishes to her and her continuing success!
Inspiring post, Elizabeth! I really want to read this book.
Congrats on your release!
I keep buying this book...then giving it away. I have probably bought 20 copies! Love it.
Thanks Stephen. :)
You really should Emily. It gets kind of dry and technical in places, but Frankls' story is one you will never forget.
Hooray and congrats to Elizabeth!
I'd never read this, but seems like I must!
What an inspiring story. Talk about strength, for sure. :) And your book blurb is awesome.
It really is Lydia. Unbelievably inspiring.
Thanks ilima!
Congrats on the book Elizabeth! Wishing you great success.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation- we are challenged to change ourselves.”
That's my fave of the Frankl quotes. This tour has made me stop and think. Great job and glad you're books getting so much attention Liz. Great Prompt choice Carrie.
Your book sounds wonderful and Frankl's book sounds life changing. Given the fact that I've experienced four deaths in my family since Christmas maybe I should read it!
I added BOTH to my GR TBR list! I've been hearing many good things about your book, Elizabeth. Congrats and best of luck to you!
Hi, Carrie, Hi, Elizabeth,
What a fascinating read/person. SO deep, so true. Elizabeth, thank you for informing us about Franki... The human spirit is truly amazing when pushed to its limits!
Holy cow, I have to go add that book to my TBR, thanks for sharing it. That is some very potent understanding of reality. Elizabeth, thank you for posting about that book.
It's a tie between love scenes, strength (moving post!) and writer PMS. LOL
WOW! Like, WOW! I don't even know what to say, but I'm going to read his book!
I love the quote “When we are no longer able to change a situation- we are challenged to change ourselves.” So good!
holy cow sparky, that was really strengthening...you're so good. thanks carrie for the great prompt!! off to locate the book...
Yeah. Frankl was an amazing man and such an inspiration for hanging onto humanity in horrifying circumstances.
Thank you Natasha!
There is so much gold in that book Sheena...it's wonderful!
Wow Johanna, that's rough. Prayers to you lady. Yes, get this book. It does help. Frankl has such a positive view on life and the after life that it's hard to read this book and not see things differently. And it's impossible for me to feel too bad for myself when I imagine just how much this man (and millions of others) lost, but survived.
Ah thanks Nancy! That means a lot coming from a talented lady like yourself. :)
Michael, with all the cancer tragedy on your family...this is a must read! Because of this book, I understand that my brother and father died of cancer...but the disease never beat them!
If I was rich, I'd just stand on a corner and hand out copies like the Gideon's hand out Bibles! It's a powerful book!!!
I know...these bloggers really sent their A games!
You go girl!!!
Isn't that amazing? And he stayed a loving, wonderful man. Blows me away.
You won't regret it chick!
Definitely. He had more faith in humanity than people who have never suffered at all.
I am really loving your blog Carrie - I love the Frankl quotes!!
And I love having you here! :D Thanks, OE!
I've read articles by Frankl, and he is wonderful, inspiring, uplifting. Thanks for reminding me I must have his book. I hope Healing Summer does very well!
Wow that is really incredible and now I must go buy that book! Well done! I just love stuff like that!
Thanks Joylene!
I think you'll enjoy it!
LOVE seeing Elizabeth everywhere :)
Me too! :D
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