The Choice By Dr. Edith Eger: An Inspiring Book Review And Journey Towards Healing

I was furious, disheartened, emotional, and inspired all in one weekend after reading the book The Choice by Dr. Edith Eger. Although I have seen many holocaust narratives before, Edith’s story touched me in ways others have not. 

It was too raw and real, leaving me in tears on multiple occasions and questioning my faith in humanity. How are we capable of causing so much pain and suffering to our fellow beings? How can we be so blinded to suffering towards some but be loving to our kind? The author’s personable tone and story kept me hooked from start to finish. 

In her book, Dr. Edith shows you the path toward healing and inner freedom by sharing her story of being a war prisoner, her escape, and all her work to live freely and move on despite tremendous trauma and suffering. 

In this post, I will share some of the highlights from the book and the parts I found inspiring. I highly recommend that everyone reads The Choice By Dr. Edith Eva Eger to get a complete understanding. 

Prisoner of the War

Sixteen-year-old Edith was a trained ballerina and the youngest in her home. She cherished her life with her two sisters, Magda, the pianist, and Klara, the accomplished violinist. She spent her days training several hours, hoping to be an Olympic gymnast one day. 

During the war, when her sister Klara was away one night to play the violin, the nazis came in the middle of the night and took Edith, Magda, and her parents to Auschwitz. They were held captive along with many other Jews from all over Europe. 

While there, Edith lost her parents to the gas chamber. She and her sister, with millions of other Jews, were subject to the most intense cruelty. The nazi guards deprived them of food, beat or shot them if they protested, forced them to work, and marched them for days until they had no more energy.  

It is hard not to be disturbed by reading certain parts of her story. The behavior of the guards towards them made me furious and question humanity. Despite adverse conditions, Edith and sister Magda relied on each other for strength, which helped their spirits alive. 

When Germany was defeated, the American GIs rescued Edith and her sister from under a pile of bodies. They were barely able to raise their arms when asked, ‘Raise your hand if you are alive.’

When she and Magda made their way back to their hometown, they were delighted to be reunited with their sister Klara, who nurtured them back to health. During this time, she met her future husband, Bela Eger. Soon after their marriage, they welcomed a baby girl. Post-war Europe was still unsafe for the family, and they soon arranged to leave their country for a better life. 

Worries Know No Boundaries

Edith and her family, with the help of some family members, could obtain a visa for themselves. When they are about to reach America, she tells her daughter that it’s the land of the free. She was so excited about the opportunities ahead of her that she denied any traces of fear or sadness within her. 

While settling on the East Coast, many things triggered past experiences within her. A chimney’s smoke, an officer in uniform, and any loud noise all brought back the horrible experiences of the war. She kept viewing herself as a deeply flawed person, not someone suffering from trauma flashbacks. 

She realizes many years later that running away doesn’t heal the pain. It only made it worse. She realized she was more psychologically imprisoned than she was before.  

The Seed of Calling

Edith and her family moved to Texas and expanded their family to have two more children. While her children have thrived, Edith continued to live her life, unwilling to share and talk about her past with her friends and family. 

She goes on to continue her education and obtain her bachelor’s degree. During one of her classes, a classmate asks her if she is a survivor and hands her a copy of ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’ by Viktor Frankyl, a renowned psychologist and a holocaust survivor. 

Fate brings Dr. Frankyl and Edith together, and with him, she starts to ask certain questions that have been eating at her for many years. Why did I survive? What is the purpose of my life? What meaning can I make from my suffering?

In her book, Edith shares that Dr. Frankyl nourished a seed of calling within her. He helped her search for the meaning of her life by helping others find their life’s meaning and to heal so she could heal others.

A Real Breakthrough

Despite earning awards and recognition as a reputed teacher, she continues to look for a path where she can be true to herself. As a woman in her fifties, she worked hard to obtain her master’s and later her Ph.D. in clinical psychology. 

Edith shares that while helping her patients deal with their suffering, she felt like an imposter for not dealing with her suffering. She realizes she hadn’t been able to express herself and truly let herself feel the feelings out of fear or disapproval of others. 

When she saw her veteran patient express his rage for losing his legs, she wanted to get down on the floor with him and express her rage. But because she was his psychologist, she had to keep herself in control. 

This incident inspired her to push herself and confront her fears in a safe space with her therapist. She could face her demons and walk toward a healing path by working with her patients through their healing journey. 

The Legacy We Pass On

Edith has helped her patients deal with their suffering and trauma so they don’t pass it on to future generations. One patient, Jason, in particular, who suffered abuse as a child, was stuck in his anger and need for control.

In one session, he carried a loaded gun and pointed at Dr. Eger without realizing what he was doing. She helped him calm down and realize that he did not want to pass on the abuse he went through as a child to his children. He may be angry at his wife because of her choices, but hurting her would only hurt his children. 

Working with patients like Jason made her realize that the worst moments of our lives help bring awareness about ourselves. We become aware she says about all we have received and what we can choose to perpetuate. 

Her experiences made her wonder what legacy she wanted to pass on. She asked if there was more to resolve within her so she doesn’t perpetuate more pain. 

Around the same time, Dr. Eger gets invited to give a speech in Germany. Despite the fear of reliving her trauma again, she accepted the invitation to the place she deeply feared. 

She Has a Choice

In Germany, Dr. Eger walks through the holocaust museum at Auschwitz and recollects what she saw at each corner and the systematic elimination of people there. 

She wonders if she could have somehow saved her mother’s life. She realizes she can either beat herself up over the past or know she has a choice. 

She has a choice in how she moves on with her life, to accept herself the way she is, be responsible for her happiness, and stop asking if she deserved to survive. She chooses to do her best so future generations don’t experience what she went through and to stop running from the past. 

Biggest Prison Is in Your Mind

The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Eger carries a critical message for us. We cannot change what happened, what we may have done, or what was done to us, but we can choose how we live now. 

She shares that the biggest prison is in our minds, and we already hold the key to it in our pockets. It is the willingness to take total responsibility for our lives, release ourselves from judgment, and love ourselves for who we are – human, imperfect, and whole. 

The Choice reminds us to learn from our pasts, face our pasts, and work on healing to achieve our inner freedom. It reminds us not to pass the baggage of our suffering to our future generation by dealing with it and being vulnerable enough to discuss it.

The Choice deserves a spot on your bookshelf for many reasons. It’s a story of survival, acceptance, and using suffering as a way to heal and help others around us. It has had a transformative effect on my life and would have the same on you.