Beacon Press will publish a recently rediscovered work by Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning. Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, which has previously never been translated into English, will be released on May 5, 2020 and include an introduction by Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, as well as an epilogue by Frankl’s son-in-law Franz Vesely.
Based on three public lectures Frankl delivered in Vienna 11 months after he was freed from Auschwitz, the essays were published in German in 1946 and subsequently eclipsed by Man’s Search for Meaning, which has sold 16 million copies since its publication 73 years ago.
In a statement, Beacon Press director Helene Atwan said, “We are immensely honored to be publishing another landmark work by Viktor Frankl who has inspired generations of readers with his thoughts on finding meaning and renewed purpose in the face of unbearable suffering. We look forward to releasing this new volume that promises to introduce many more readers to Frankl’s profound wisdom and spiritual insights.”
Beacon purchased the American and Open Market rights for the recently resurfaced work for six figures following this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Yes to Life will be released simultaneously with the UK edition, published by Rider, an imprint of Ebury/PenguinRandomHouse UK. At publication the press will also publish a new gift edition of Man’s Search for Meaning. A 75th anniversary edition is slated for release in 2021.
A professor of neurology and medicine at the University of Vienna, Frankl was interned at four concentration camps during World War II. His experiences formed the basis for his subsequent writings. Only he and his sister survived imprisonment; the rest of his immediate family did not.
