The Choice — Edith Eger

This is the true story of Edith Eger, who, in 1944, as a 16-year-old ballerina, was sent to Auschwitz. She survived where survival seemed impossible, endured the “death marches,” and was rescued by American soldiers from literally beneath a pile of corpses.

However, the book does not end with her liberation from the concentration camp. It describes Edith’s long and painful journey after the war: her emigration to the United States, her attempts to forget the past, and, ultimately, her training to become a psychologist. It was only decades later that she realized that although she was physically free, she remained a prisoner of her own mind.

Key ideas of the book:

Inner freedom: Eger argues that we cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can always choose our reaction to them.

The prison of the mind: The most terrifying prison is the one we build ourselves out of our own fears, guilt, and regret.

Choice: The book teaches us to choose hope over despair, love over hate, and life over mere existence.