The concept of emotional or spiritual survival has an honorable history, but it does invite self-indulgence. In my own case, the worst I ever survived was severe personal and political confusion, the temptation to various sorts of craziness and a couple of bad acid trips. It felt pretty horrendous at the time, and some of it was even dangerous, but Auschwitz it wasn't.

Beginning to See the Light: Sex, Hope, and Rock-And-Roll (ed. U of Minnesota Press, 2012) - ISBN: 9780816680788