Praise & Reviews
“Her unique background gives her amazing insight, and I think many people will find comfort right now from her suggestions on how to handle difficult situations.”
—BILL GATES, recommending The Choice as the top pick for his summer 2020 reading list. Read his review of Dr. Edie’s book.
“I’ll be forever changed by her story,” Oprah says of Eger. “It’s a reminder of what courage looks like in the worst of times. And that ‘We all have the ability to pay attention to what we’ve lost, or to pay attention to what we still have.'”
—OPRAH WINFREY, recommending The Choice for World Book Day 2019 and in preparation for her Super Soul Sunday interview with Dr. Eger.
“Written with passion and depths . . . Offers unique insights into the very nature of human suffering and the capacity for healing. Comparisons to Man’s Search for Meaning are natural, but this work is even more bold.
—MICHAEL BERENBAUM, former project director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
New York Times calls THE CHOICE a “Triumph” and “Mind-blowing”
The New York Times Book Review has published a marvelous review of “The Choice” in the October 8th issue. NYT Best-selling author and writer Lori Gottlieb offers extraordinary praise for Edie and her memoir “The Choice,” including this glowing quote:
I can’t imagine a more important message for modern times. Eger’s book is a triumph, and should be read by all who care about both their inner freedom and the future of humanity.
Gottlieb captures Edie’s message of forgiveness and the ability to choose in her starred review, recognizing how pertinent this story is in the current national climate.
“Edith’s strength and courage are remarkable in this memoir as she draws on her own unthinkable experience in Nazi concentration camps to become a therapist and help others recover from all kinds of hardship. Her life and work are an incredible example of forgiveness, resilience and generosity.
—Sheryl Sandberg
“A more important book for our times is hard to imagine.
—THE BOOKSELLER
“The Choice is a gift to humanity. One of those rare and eternal stories that you don’t want to end and that leave you forever changed. Dr. Eger’s life reveals our capacity to transcend even the greatest of horrors and to use that suffering for the benefit of others. She has found true freedom and forgiveness and shows us how we can as well.
—DESMOND TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
“The Choice…details [Eger’s] time at Auschwitz, her escape, and how she became a groundbreaking clinical therapist who has paved the road for treatment of trauma survivors battling Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
—Kveller.com
“A treasure . . . one of those rare page-turning books that will leave the reader fundamentally changed.
—HARRIET LERNER, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of The Dance of Anger
“The Choice uses Eger’s journey to teach readers how they, too, can triumph over trauma.
—Broadly
BookPage deems THE CHOICE ‘more than an eloquent memoir’
The Choice is more than an eloquent memoir by Holocaust survivor and psychologist Edith Eva Eger. It is an exploration of the healing potential of choice. When someone chooses to harm us, our sense of self can later be overwhelmed by the memory of that pain. But Eger, who has helped countless trauma patients, believes that we can regain our autonomy by choosing to confront the past—a lesson she learned from her own experience.
Read the full BookPage review by Deborah Mason
“I would take Edie Eger on an op with me any day.
—U.S. Navy SEALs Commander (Ret.) MARK DIVINE, bestselling author of The Way of the SEAL and Unbeatable Mind
“A poignantly crafted memoir…a searing, astute study of intensive healing and self-acceptance through the absolution of suffering and atrocity.
–KIRKUS, starred review
“I have learned from this gifted human being, this indomitable survivor, this accomplished therapist, more about humanity and suffering and resilience than from all my advanced degrees. This effervescent, brawny nanogenarian has more than a story to tell, a therapy to offer, a journey to guide; she brings us to a new way of being.
—Dr. ROBERT KOFFMAN, former Director of Psychological Health, U.S. Navy
“Eger present a searing firsthand account of surviving the Holocaust in this heartfelt memoir of trauma, resilience, and hope… Offering a gripping survival story and hard-won wisdom for facing the painful impact of trauma on the human psyche, this valuable work bears witness to the strength of the human spirit to overcome unfathomable evil.
—Library Journal
“Edith Eva Eger is my kind of hero. She survived unspeakable horrors and brutality; but rather than let her painful past destroy her, she chose to transform it into a powerful gift – one she uses to help others heal.
—JEANNETTE WALLS, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle
“In this extraordinary chronicle of heroism and healing, Dr. Eger shows us how to escape the prisons of our own minds . . . Millions of people can learn from Dr. Eger’s inspiring cases and shocking personal story as well as her profound clinical wisdom to heal their lives.
—PHILIP ZIMBARDO, PhD, Stanford professor emeritus of psychology and New York Times bestselling author of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
“Edie Eger’s WWII-era experiences and her subsequent growth and life path is an incredible journey and victory of the human soul over the pain of human degradation.
–STEPHEN ROBINSON, CEO, MAGIS Group LLC, specialist in Optimal Performance under Stress™ (OPS™) training
“In the years of my work in the trauma field no one has inspired and encouraged me more than Dr. Eger. . . . I am confident this book will have an enduring impact for a very wide audience.
—U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) CHARLES W. HOGE, MD
Influential Author and Thought Leader Adam Grant Touts THE CHOICE
THE CHOICE is number 1 on Adam Grant’s Fall 2017 list of books on Happiness & Resilience
“[THE CHOICE] is a truly beautiful memoir on freedom by a Holocaust survivor turned clinical psychologist, reminiscent of the great works of Anne Frank and Viktor Frankl. Reading it gave me goosebumps.
—Adam Grant, New York Times Bestselling author GIVE AND TAKE and ORIGINALS and OPTION B
“…I am 71 years old , living in South Africa and 4th generation German.I hate reading about the holocaust but persevered and its the best thing I ever did.
What you have written has relevance throughout the world.Whether you have survived Auschwitz, the British concentration camps in South Africa,slavery in the United States, apartheid in South Africa, or any of the injustices against humanity on our human planet, or are just trying to overcome your own little trauma, your message is the same. You have given people the means to overcome hurt , degradation, physical or mental pain, whatever is causing them not to lead a normal joyful life, through the choices you give them. You give them hope.
I read your book from the perspective of someone who has never had to suffer any real hardship, certainly not in comparison to what you had to suffer. Nevertheless , your message has just as much relevance to me as it has to someone like Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Ghandi or you. I think every household should have a copy of your book so that when the going gets tough they can turn to it and know that they have choices. There is a way out. There is hope.
I have been brought up in the Christian faith, you have been brought up in the Jewish faith, there are many religions, sects faiths, beliefs, whatever in this world. The one abiding truth which supersedes all these things is love, and you have managed to show us this through your actions , courage and perseverance, and your ability to forgive.
My faith tells me that Love is God, and God is Love.None of us will ever truly understand the mystery of God/Love. Through your book you have brought me a little closer to understanding this mystery.
Thank you for sharing your deepest emotions, feelings and experiences with us.”
—ED SCHROEDER
“The Choice pulls together stories and insights [Eger] has shared with people around the world for decades and reveals new dimensions of her remarkable life.
—El Paso Inc.
“This book, no doubt, will be remembered as important for going beyond the realm of a Holocaust memoir and becoming a Holocaust life lesson.
—San Diego Jewish World
First for Women Magazine Includes The Choice in ‘7 Books We’re Loving’
The wonderful praise of Dr. Eger’s memoir The Choice continues to roll in, with its feature in First for Women magazine’s ‘7 Books We’re Loving.’
Editor-in-Chief Carol Brooks wrote the piece, saying that she finished The Choice:
…with tears in my eyes and gratitude in my heart.