If anyone could have given up hope and taken his own life in despair, it would have been Viktor Frankl.

In 1942, Frankl was a physician in Austria and a newlywed with a bright future ahead of him; however, before the year ended that, Frankl, who was Jewish, would be imprisoned in a German concentration camp. His father, mother, brother and wife would all die there in the camps, yet Frankl persevered and worked to give others hope.

"The bottom line message in this book is that life is beautiful and life has meaning under any circumstances. We can turn our suffering into triumph," said Michael Ryan, editorial page editor for The Augusta Chronicle, who has written a novel about Frankl's life called The Last Freedom.

Prior to being taken as a prisoner, Frankl worked in Vienna with young adults.

"There was a suicide problem among the youth in Vienna," said Ryan.

At the time, students leaving school had to take a test which would determine the success of the rest of their lives. It caused tremendous pressure and sometimes hopelessness.

Frankl was imprisoned in four German concentration camps including Auschwitz.

"One of the ways he survived was they exploited his talents as a doctor," said Ryan.

Not only did Frankl minister to the prisoners' physical needs, but he drew on the experiences of working with troubled youth to help those in the concentration camps emotionally and mentally.

After World War II, Frankl would write what The New York Times would dub as one of the 10 most influential books in America, Man's Search for Meaning. According to the Viktor Frankl Institute website, that book has sold more than 9 million copies in the United States alone.

Frankl's beliefs differed from the psychology of Sigmund Freud and others. He believed that human beings could survive anything if they had meaning and reason for their lives. It is the drive for meaning that propels people.

Also, one's mindset and attitude is of the utmost importance.

"Frankl said everything can be taken from you, but your attitude. It's totally up to you. If you suffer with a sense of purpose and dignity, it's much easier to get through," said Ryan.

In the concentration camps, everything was taken from Frankl. He had been writing a book prior to his imprisonment, and he had sewn the manuscript inside his coat, hoping the Germans would not take it. The paper was lost, but Frankl kept it alive inside his mind.

Ryan became inspired by Frankl's story after reading Man's Search for Meaning.

He had met a woman in Topeka, Kan. who gave him a copy of the book. It sat on his shelf for many years before he picked it up in 2000.

"I read it and wanted to do something," said Ryan who was deeply touched and changed by it.

Rather than write a straight biography, Ryan decided to make it a novel.

"I think it would be a great movie," he said.

He had some contacts who knew Frankl's second wife, and Ryan interviewed his wife, son-in-law and grandchildren for the book.

"They are wonderful people. They are very modest," he said.

He used his reporting skills to accurately research the book. While the dialogue is fictionalized, the events are true.

The book was published last year. After he completed the book, he sent it to them. He received emails from all of them except Frankl's widow who called him from Austria.

"It was profoundly humbling," he said of Frankl widow's phone call and approval of the book.

In the year since his book was published, Ryan said he often encounters people who tell him they are buying his book for a friend or relative who is going through a crisis and needs it.

Ryan spoke at Fort Gordon in April and will speak again next month.

He said he is thankful to the military service members because their lives have great meaning and importance.

"They need to understand how meaningful their job is," he said. "They are doing more to protect my Family than I will ever be called on to do."

The Last Freedom is available in Augusta at the Book Tavern on Broad Street and at www.amazon.com.