Listening Well
As y’all know I don’t “review” memoirs. I really don’t feel comfortable critiquing somebody’s memories and experiences. So instead, you’re getting the parts of the memoir that really spoke to me without spoilers.
Heather Morris has always captivated me with her writing and dedication to research. I’ve been moved to tears in each of her historical fiction books (based on true stories), and after reading Listening Well I have even more appreciation for her work.
I was immediately drawn into Morris’s life and loved her close relationship with her grandfather, since I too grew up close with my own grandfather and listening to his own stories about life and experiences he had. Somehow, he, like Morris’s grandfather, was imparting wisdom I would come to use later in life, because I absorbed what he said as a child.
I took a lot from Morris’s memories of listening to others and how they shared their stories, experiences, and emotions with her. There really is so much to take away from her experiences in story listening starting during her childhood and I can see how she used them to create each of her books.
As I read, I began thinking more and more of our current day realities. You would think that listening would be a no-brainer. After all, what is so difficult about hearing things? The truth is, listening needs to be intentional and cultivated over time. Personally, I think we all need to listen more to each other and absorb what we hear, and Morris shares many ways of being a good listener in her memoir.
Overall, there is so much wisdom to take away from Morris’s life and sage wisdom. Definitely one to pick up!
Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for this gifted copy in exchange for this honest review.
𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: In Listening Well, Heather will explore her extraordinary talents as a listener―a skill she employed when she first met Lale Sokolov, the tattooist at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the inspiration for her bestselling novel. It was this ability that led Lale to entrust Heather with his story, which she told in her novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz and the bestselling follow up, Cilka's Journey.
Now Heather shares the story behind her inspirational writing journey and the defining experiences of her life, including her profound friendship with Lale, and explores how she learned to really listen to the stories people told her―skills she believes we can all learn.
