If you've read Viktor Frankl, you've already heard the main message of this inspirational book. You can always make a choice, no matter how dire your circumstances.
But The Gift, is a little different and maybe more practical in its suggestions for how to view and improve your life. Oprah is fan of Dr. Eger, but don't let that influence you one way or the other. This is a story worth reading.
Especially good reading for the Jewish New Year.
I'll keep this one near by bedside.

All I can say is WOW as I am both gobsmacked and inspired by Dr. Edith Eger. Dr Edith Eger also penned "The Choice", a memoir of her life before, during and after her time in Nazi concentration camps during WW2. The heartache and sacrifices and the horrors she endured and carries with her to this day. She states she carried it and it rules her to the very core and at times, took it out on her poor husband. Yet she was able to inspire us by coming through her realization and giving us the tools on how we can control our reactions rather than trying to control events.

This is very timely as we are experiencing COVID-19 during these very trying and crazy times. She overcame so much and became a heroine and inspires us within. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

“The Gift” is truly a book that will keep on giving. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would!

Yep. It’s that good!

“The Gift” is Dr. Edith Eger’s follow-up to her best-seller, “The Choice,” which published in September 2017. Since then, the clinical physiologist and Holocaust survivor has met Oprah, and traveled the world on a speaking circuit.

Oh! And she’s only 92 years young!

“The Gift” is similar in some ways to “Man’s Search for Meaning” by another Auschwitz survivor, Viktor Frankl. But I found The Gift more readable, and the takeaways more tangible.

One of my biggest takeaways is this: “Life – even with its inevitable trauma, pain, grief, misery, and death – is a gift.” We have a choice to life in the present. To pay attention to what we focus on, and to be sure that we’re in alignment with our goals.

Throughout this short book, Dr. Eger shares her choices she has made in various challenges. And she also details stories from her patients as she worked with them in her clinical practice.

Spoiler alert: It’s all about mindset!

Dr. Eger tells us that she’s not a “shrink.” Instead, she’s a “stretch.”

She talks to us, survivor to survivor, to guide us through our self-limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome. If we are able to acknowledge our past trauma -- even allow ourselves to release our rage, then we can truly embrace our potential.

I jotted down a ton of “quotable quote” as I was reading. Here are some them:

• “The opposite of depression is expression.”
• “What comes out of our body doesn’t make us ill; what stays in there does.”
• “You can’t heal what you don’t feel.”
• “Whatever you practice, you become better at. If you practice fear, you’ll have more fear.”
• “Feel so you can heal.”
• “To grow, you’ve got to evolve instead of revolve.”
• “There’s no forgiveness without rage.”
• “Forgiveness isn’t something you give someone else. It’s how you release yourself.”
• “We release ourselves from the prison of avoidance by letting the feelings come. Let them move through us and let them go.”

From the publisher:
Eger explains that the worst prison she experienced is not the prison that Nazis put her in but the one she created for herself, the prison within her own mind. She describes the 12 most pervasive imprisoning beliefs she has known—including fear, grief, anger, secrets, stress, guilt, shame, and avoidance—and the tools she has discovered to deal with these universal challenges.


While I was lucky enough to read an electronic copy from NetGalley and Scribner, I will definitely be buying multiple copies. For my bookshelves and for my friends. The gift that keeps on giving.

What a great story! I liked how this book was written and I found it to be insightful. It was a good read and I really enjoyed it. My first time reading a book from this Author and plan to look up her other books.

***5 Stars ***
Expected Publication: September 15th, 2020

Dr. Edith Eger is a remarkable woman. I did not read her first book The Choice but I wish I had prior to this. Having said that it is not necessary before reading this. Dr . Eger survived Auschwitz, however in this book she explains that the worst prison she experienced is not the prison that Nazis put her in, but the one she created for herself, the prison within her own mind. Despite everything she went through Dr. Eger went on to become a clinical psychologist helping patients with their own challenges. She intermixes her own stories with those of her patients on how to overcome struggles in life. Well written and inspiring, I really enjoyed this read. It wasn't preachy like some self help books I've read, it was real and relatable. It was compassionate and inspirational as well.

Special Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found myself in many of the chapters and even some exercises to enable change. There are many stories and examples, maybe more than necessary, but I'm sure everyone will find themselves in at least a few.

Eger provides a short, uplifting, you-can-do-it checklist for positive growth. An Auschwitz survivor, she draws parallels to overcoming mental prisons that can freeze us in unhealthy relationships, keep us from breaking out of fixed roles, and feeling the need to meet marks set by others. Each chapter tackles a different imprisoning mindset/behavior, and ends with a summarizing checklist of points made, nuggets to ponder, and action items to move ahead. Not too heavy or deep, but provides some good food for thought.
Thanks to NetGalley & Scribner for the free pre-pub ebook.

I was very intrigued by this book when I heard who the author was. I feel for the most part when going through harrowing or tramatizing situations a part of it is just pushing through it. I mean the only choice is to go through it or to somehow end things right? However, once getting through to the other side and dealing with life after that devastating time in your is not easy in the least! I found the author's insights to be highly encouraging and motivating. I feel people can draw strength from her sharing her story and also how she has helped others. When you hear not just her story but others that you can also relate to tell theirs it can help you to not feel alone in your own struggles and weaknesses. The book is short with quick stories and activities to help yourself. I found some of the activities to be ones i have heard before and to be honest did not do much for me since they tend to tell you to do this or that but not really how that works in real life situations etc..For some they may help and work. For myself however the story of the author as well as the other people was way more effective in making me inspired and more hope that we can fight the struggles that bring us hardship or pain and that we are not alone. I found the book to be a much needed gift in a hard time for many. Thank you for it!!!
4.5

This is one of those books that as soon as you start reading it, you know that you are holding something very special in your hands. But The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life, written by Edith Eger, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor who holds a doctorate in psychology, is beyond special, it is a book that I will NEVER forget. It is a book that has the power to change lives.

If anyone can give practical, wise, insightful, relatable and even humorous advice, it's Edith Eger. She obviously knows how to put the past behind her and make the most of what life gives her. She is not a victim, she is a survivor; but she more than survivies, she flourishes no matter what her circumstances because she knows how to keep her mind free of the traps that so often ensnare us. Thankfully, she graciously shares her wisdom with us.

In The Gift, Ms. Eger counsels readers on how to release themselves from the mental prisons of victimhood; avoidance; self-neglect; secrets; guilt and shame; unresolved grief; rigidity; resentment; paralyzing fear; judgment; hopelessness; and not forgiving. I honestly cannot think on anyone on the planet who would not benefit from reading this book.

This woman humbles me, inspires me, makes sense to me. Before yesterday, I didn't know her name. Now I'll never forget her story, or her wisdom.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me the opportunity to read this wonderful book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Auschwitz survivor and practicing psychologist Dr. Edith Eger follows up her stunning biography The Choice with the The Gift, in which she explores lessons learned throughout her own incredible life and the lives of the hundreds of patients she has helped. These life lessons are drawn from her experiences as a 16-year-old concentration camp inmate, an immigrant to American, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a scholar, and a humanitarian.

Each chapter deals with a different aspect of the challenges we all face. Eger emphasizes that while traumas differ from person to person (thankfully, few of us will experience the horror of a concentration camp), pain is pain, and it is how we deal with that pain that is important. The author is a proponent of empathy and respect for individual choice, but she also stresses personal responsibility and the need to take charge of our own lives.

Still professionally active and a sought after speaker well into her nineties, Eger is an inspiration and a teacher for us all.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Such a touching inspirational story about healing. Eger does a great job providing hands-on tips to help you move on after grief. I'm looking forward to reading her first book, The Choice!

I’m humbled to be allowed a copy of this to read, who doesn’t have daily struggles but the reality of those struggles are where we lose focus. The gift is the first book I have read by this author, as I did not read her harrowing story of survival in a Jewish concentration camp in 1944. Twelve different chapters about different scenarios where the author brings us the reality of the situation. From cheating affairs, sexual abuse survivors, to death, and angry spouses.

What did I like? I bookmarked a bunch of quotes between the pages of this book but death is the one that hits me the hardest. My father passed after three weeks stage four pancreatic cancer which barely gave us enough time to come to terms with cancer let alone death. I think any kind of trauma marks us in a way that irrevocably changes us. The author went through a harrowing journey herself at an impressionable age during a huge war and became a survivor. Still it took years for her to really come to terms with all that happened to her.

Would I recommend or buy? This author covers numerous subjects which may help you come to terms. The book is more like a conversation or case that happened and how the author helped them come to terms with it. A wealth of information and a self help book.

I received a complimentary copy to read. Five stars.

The Gift is a must read, especially fit for those struggling with trauma. I haven't read her first book, but it's now on my to do list. Edith Eva Eger writes in such a way that every person can identify and understand. Personally having survived an emotionally and psychologically abusive relationship, Mrs. Eger validated my feelings without coddling them through twelve lessons on how to let go and heal using personal stories, many of which are from her time as a prisoner of Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Dr. Eger has indeed given us a gift with her book, The Gift. She weaves her story and others in a way that coaches and gently coaches the reader toward choosing a better future for themselves.

I liked The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Edith Eva Eger, the personal stories, and the clients' stories, which brought the concepts and information alive.

I was intrigued by the keys to free yourself from avoidance, and one of the techniques is to scan your body for sensations like tightness, tingling, pain, etc. then to identify the feeling and name it, without judgment. That is the hardest thing—without judgment.

Very good, practical information and techniques, and a book that will be referred to often for those techniques.

12 Lessons to Ave Your Life
How to stop imprisoning thoughts to find healing, inspiration, and freedom.
Prison within her mind w/beliefs of fear, grief, anger, secrets, stress, guilt, shame, and avoidance.
Mental prisons contribute to our suffering. We each have capacity to choose.

In her book, The Choice, Dr Eger inspired us to think - she did it - I can too.
The Gift is a practical guide to the healing, so we can do it too.
To change we must interrupt the habits and patterns that no longer serve us.

The ultimate key to freedom is to keep becoming who you truly are.

Victims ask, Why Me? ... Survivors ask, What now?

Love yourself is only foundation for joy, health, and wholeness.

Through her story, her experiences, and her patients' stories, we learn the lessons.

Reading Dr. Eger’s work is like being comforted by my Grandma, she is wise from academia and life experience. After reading The Choice and learning how Dr. Eger persevered through and after the Holocaust, The Gift, is a gift to the reader guiding us how to face and overcome challenges faced in in daily lives. I loved reading the relevant Real life examples Dr. Eger wove in her writing. Through her words, I felt I was being hugged and told everything is going to be fine.

This book should be a mandatory read! Edith Eger is an amazing woman, A wonderful Doctor and teacher. A person to be admired, respected, and "listened" to for her stories, and advice. I also recommend it as gifts to those who are struggling with the many aspects of living in this world. A wonderful book, I would give it more than the 5 starsT

"The Gift" by Edith Eva Eger is an amazing field guide of mental health and self care! I read her first book, "The Choice" and loved the mix of her personal biography and practical tips to choose happiness and fulfillment. "The Gift" expanded on the latter theme and includes 12 specific topics. Readers can follow the book from beginning to end or skp around and read the topics that resonate most with them, the book can be read in pieces. She covers important topics like Avoidance, Guilt & Shame, Resentment, Fear etc. She uses her personal experiences alongside her education and professional experience to demonstrate how to 'unlock our mental prisons'. Dr. Eger is amazing and her supportive, tough-love style makes for an engaging read of which is rarely found in any type of self-help book. This is a wonderful follow up to her first book and a must-own how-to guide to a balanced life. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and most of all to the author for the chance to review an ARC of this gem!

Excellent follow up to Eger's first book. Coming from concentration camp, the author has so much to share regarding life and perspective. This is a deep book using examples to make the point. Recommend.