From the very first sentence, I could tell this was going to be a very special book. Her personal story shared in inspiring detail alongside her valuable lessons is something I will not forget for a long time, it ever. I will absolutely be gifting this to my friends and family for valuable advice and hope for a better future. Powerful message for us all.

As victim of the Holocaust, Edith Eger endured unimaginable torture and horrors. As a survivor, she forged from her own pain the prescience of purpose and channeled it into a legacy that has changed and saved lives and, through works like The Gift, will continue to do so for generations to come. At the age of ninety, she continues to counsel and write and transform suffering into survival into thriving. In the introduction of The Gift she confides that, “the worst prison is not the one the Nazis put me in,” and with an unflinching self-awareness admits, “the worst prison is the one I built for myself.” She leverages that insight to offer lessons for anyone who struggles with self-imposed barriers to freedom, happiness, and healthy relationships. Through chapters that address issues like Avoidance, Self-Neglect, Guilt and Shame, Resentment, and Fear, Dr. Eger, a clinical psychologist for more than forty years, speaks to readers with compassion and candor. Eschewing victimhood, Dr. Eger calls out specific limiting behaviors, mindsets, and actions; addresses the fully acceptable duality of being innocent and responsible, wounded and accountable; and outlines a path toward acceptance, healing, and fulfillment. Invaluable is her insight that “attitude isn’t everything.” A must-read for survivors of trauma and anyone struggling with feelings of hopelessness or helplessness.

I received a digital pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Incredibly influential to me as an Integrative Life + Wellness Coach, I recommended this book as a resource in my October 2020 Sparked series episode “Striding Through Struggle.”

I cannot say enough about Dr. Eger. She is a national treasure and should receive much more attention than she does. I'd love to see the high kick! This is a wonderful title I have gifted to new graduates and have marked all over my copy. If you want a change of perspective, this is the book for you.

***Thank you NetGalley for providing me with access to this e-preview. This review is based on an ARC.***

Eger is an professionally accomplished woman, but her straightforward and easy to understand terminology is welcome reading for all literary levels. I regret not reading this book sooner. I love her humor and her insight in various struggles that people face in her book to find their personal freedom. I appreciate that she states that one does not need to read this book cover to cover, but rather in sections is perfectly fine and appropriate for the reader. We are not to ignore our past life experiences, but rather use the tools from that experience to find our personal freedom. This is a wonderful book to personally have and share the insight with others.

This is a beautiful book written by a wonderful author. Each chapter is a different lesson that is filled with examples and stories. It is filled with great advice and really captures the essence of the power to choose.

Great and powerful insights from a new voice. She has turned a horrible experience into a learning journey to share with us.

I read the book "The Gift" by Edith Eva Eger about a month ago. I delayed my NetGalley book review only because I was too busy talking up this book to my colleagues and my friends, purchasing it for my sister-in-law's birthday, and soaking up its profound wisdom.

The introduction to the book alone was powerful. Dr. Eger instantly became one of my sheroes. The book began with a glimpse of the insurmountable amount of wisdom this woman was about to impart. I immediately began highlighting key phrases, such as "no one can take what's in your mind." In the introduction, she shares the five principles she's learned from her imprisonment at Auschwitz. By the end, I felt like the information she would impart in the book as a 92 year-old Holocaust survivor with a clinical psychology education and years of wisdom would truly be a gift. I was excited to jump right in for a great read.

I now have a list of notes and quotes from the book that I like to review. This is not a book that you can sit down and read quickly. It's a book that you sit down and absorb. I personally feel that once I did a first read through that I needed to pick it up again to find all the additional nuggets of wisdom I missed.

This book is truly a gift that I highly recommend.

This book came to me at just the right time!
We all have things we need to heal and this book was like talking to a friend and working through the crazy stuff.
I highly recommend!

Inspiring! A necessary addition to your library so that it can be read and reread. A balm for our time!

Amid the plethora of self-help titles, Edith Eva Eger’s The Gift stands out as a true gem. She writes with expertise not only as someone who has struggled with mental health issues herself, but as an experienced therapist guiding others to self-understanding and healing. Highly recommended and a quick read with practical applications.

This is one of those books you will buy as a gift for very special people in your life. It's a true life changing book!!

The book is written by Dr. Edith Eva Ever, a holocaust survivor of Auschwitz. She is 92yrs young and holds a doctorate in Psychology.

Dr. Eger shares the horrors of life at Auschwitz along with personal stories of struggles from her clients in an effort to help others heal from every day challenges we all face. It is such a hopeful book and provides inspiration even in the darkest of times. Dr. Eger really makes you feel like you can beat the worst of odds because she has done it herself!! She will discuss techniques to help you break out of your personal prison and find freedom to live your best life, no matter what your past experiences were. Throughout the whole book, all I kept saying to myself is, I can't believe that Dr. Eger could have had a past like she did and still be so positive and encouraging to others today! I am humbled by her strength and tenacity to not let her past define who she is, but instead use it to make her stronger and more engaged in life!

I think everyone should read this book! It’s a great reminder to truly live life to the fullest, but it also provides you with ways of being able to do that!! I plan on buying many copies for family and friends because that’s how important I think this book is for everyone!

The author, using her own experiences as a survivor of Auschwitz, provides techniques to understand why we do what we do & how to do it better. It is well-written & easy to understand and if you only take away one thing from this book it would be well-worth the read.

Edith Eger's autobiographical book shares elements of her history, her clients' case histories, and crafts a bundle which illuminates, informs, challenges and comforts the reader. This is surely one of those books that will be re-read, particularly the chapter ends where the author summarizes, suggests, and emphasizes the gifts in each chapter. It is well written, honest, and hopeful.

I really enjoyed reading this book about overcoming mental blockades to find peace and healing! It was very inspiring and uplifting. It gave me hope to be able to make changes in my life and come out better in the end. I loved reading the experiences from the author's life and those of her patients. They were great illustrations of how making choices in the right direction can truly change your life. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to overcome the past and move into the future with more happiness and a feeling of freedom.
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner Publicity for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Very few books have had such a profound impact on my heart. This book was truly a gift to me and reading it has begun a healing process in my very soul.

I highly recommend this wonderful book that instructs us on how to forgive ourselves and others.

I think I would read Dr. Edith Eva Eger's grocery list and feel inspired. This book truly was a gift and for those that haven't read her book The Choice, I highly recommend reading that first. There - you get to know the author in a personal and meaningful way. I this compact book, you'll see the author take the most common and primal fears and use examples to show us how regular people overcame those fears.
Each vignette is easy to read and will leave you a little bit changed as a person.
Well done Dr. Eger. Keep these books coming!

Links coming soon!

What an inspirational book. This feels like one that I'll turn to over and over again. With all the anxiety and chaos in the world right now, I'm grateful that this ARC came onto my radar when it did!

I haven't read The Choice: Embrace the Possible, but I've heard stories about how some survivors of the Holocaust went on to live lives full of joy and hope while for others it was like they never left. Eger tells pieces of her own story throughout this book, describing how it took her decades to really move forward and get out of autopilot. Each chapter also includes anecdotes from her therapy clients, some of which are hard to read. But this book isn't just for survivors of horrible acts and tragedies; in fact, Eger argues that saying "it could be worse" is just one way we keep ourselves trapped by our own feelings of guilt and shame. Each chapter concludes with practices to help break free from the prisons we put ourselves in, including everything from going to therapy, screaming out your rage, and savoring life for a few minutes a day.

The Gift is all about taking ownership of your life, and I can't help but wonder about some of her tough language about victimhood and responsibility. I'm curious what Kristin and Jolenta from By the Book would think, especially based on their episode on The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. That said, Eger is ultimately loving and compassionate, and this book has a lot to offer to anyone who feels trapped or out of control in their own life.

The Gift by Edith Eva Eger Inspiring and thought provoking book highlighting alternate ways of perceiving negative thoughts and how to overcome them.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

In Dr. Edith Eger's first book, "The Choice," she recounts memories of her childhood, describes her family's deportation to Auschwitz when she was sixteen (tragically, her parents died there), her training in clinical psychology, and determination to live a meaningful life. At ninety-two, Edith remains active and eager to communicate what she has learned from the decades she has spent teaching, caring for patients, and addressing audiences all over the world. In "The Gift," Dr. Eger (with Esme Schwall Weigand) lists twelve steps that people can take to help them move on after enduring betrayal, abuse, and heartbreaking losses.

The author is an amazing woman who inspires us with her brilliance, eloquence, and joie de vivre. She readily admits that she has made mistakes that she has done her best to correct. For example, for years she did not talk about her ordeal in Auschwitz, until she finally realized that trying to hide one's anguish does not extinguish it. On the contrary, the past can become a prison unless we let go of our anger and bitterness in a constructive manner.

This work of non-fiction is rich in anecdotes that trace Dr. Eger's emotional growth after she was liberated. Also included are a number of case studies in which Eger disguises her clients' identifying details to protect their privacy. She treats patients who are struggling to save their troubled marriages; haunted by disturbing memories; paralyzed by guilt and shame; and crippled by insecurity and fear. Eger advises us to take care of ourselves physically and emotionally, and to avoid letting resentment poison our minds and hearts. Dr. Eger, a protégée of the great Viktor Frankl, advises us to "take responsibility even in situations we didn't cause or choose." She believes that people who are willing to modify their disordered thinking, negative attitudes, and self-destructive behavior can look forward to a brighter and more fulfilling future.

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to read an advance copy of this book. The timing was perfect. At a time when many of us are experiencing what Michelle Obama described as 'low grade depression" Dr. Edith Eva Eger's second book shows us how to keep going. As a holocaust survivor and a psychologist she shares stories of how important it is to acknowledge the trauma of our past or present and look for ways to validate our own needs. and our truths. Each chapter looks at a different type of struggle with stories from her own life and that of her clients. She refers to her work as choice therapy. She offers many strategies to deal with suffering, the feeling of being powerless, guilt, shame, avoidance, grief, fear, sadness, self neglect, anger, rage, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy.
There are many take aways that the reader will gain from this book. I recommend reading it slowly and taking them in.