I have read pretty much anything that Heather Morris puts out. This is a non fiction book where she explains how she was able to listen with her undivided attention to gain the trust of Lale Sokolov, the tattooist at Auschwitz-Birkenau and the inspiration for her bestselling novel.

Raised in rural New Zealand, where “children were seen and not heard” Morris learned the value of listening well from her beloved great -grandfather. This is 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.

This was extremely well written and also very valuable. Listening and learning people’s stories is incredibly important.

I received this a free ARC ebook from NetGalley.

I loved Heather Morris' other books so I thought I would give this a try. I knew it was going to be different as this is nonfiction and her other books were fiction heavily based on fact. I like her writing style and it was easy to read, but I struggled with this book. I had to push myself to finish. The topic of listening to others is an important one and she does have some great pointers and homework. I loved hearing about Lale, Cilka, and other Holocaust survivors stories. At times, the book seemed repetitive. Maybe it was done on purpose in that the more you hear the more you remember it. Since it was part memoir too, I enjoyed hearing about the author's upbringing, but at times the book felt stale and just meh. I love her other books better.

This is a hard one for me to review because I feel like maybe it's my fault I didn't like it. I thought this was going to be written more story like, but it felt more textbook like to me. I REALLY like Heather Morris and her other books so I had high hopes, but maybe I just went into this thinking it was something it wasn't? :( I had a hard time getting into this one and feel excited about the story. :(

Words cannot decide how much I enjoyed this book. Heather Morris has a way to go pull you into her writing.
You get a little more background on the story from The Tattooist of Auschwitz’s, and she gives advice how to listen to those around you. Also, this book shows how important the stories of our families are.

I have read and enjoyed a couple of this author's previous books. Some left me weeping my eyes out. This one just wasn't that good to me.

It was not what I thought it was going to be. I was very disappointed in this one. I should have paid better attention to the synopsis so it's my fault not the author. She put a lot into this book but I just didn't enjoy it. Learning to listen is probably a very good thing to do but I just didn't enjoy this one and all it had. It tells you how to listen. What to listen for.

Thank you #NetGalley for this arc. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4 stars and only because I think the author did a good job of writing it. I just didn't enjoy reading about how to listen well. It was just not what I thought it was going to be.

Listening Well: Bringing Stories of Hope to Life – Heather Morris - (2022)

Raised in rural New Zealand, where “children were seen and not heard” Morris learned the value of listening well from her beloved great -grandfather, and applied the lifelong skills learned when she wrote her NYT bestselling novel “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” (2019).

Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, was transported by force to Auschwitz-Birkenau (1942). When his captors realized he could speak several languages, he was assigned as the tattooist of incoming Jews. It was very important to Lale that his life story, and marriage to his beloved Gita be told by a non-Jew, and Morris spent a few years gathering information as she interviewed the elderly widower.

This is a book of particular value to writers, biographers, journalists, storytellers that need to carefully listen and convey information and meaning to others. Morris is understandably deeply serious about her writing and some parts of the storyline are repetitive, though her message and theme related to Holocaust Literature remains vital and sacred. **With thanks to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

The author writes historical fiction -The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey and Three Sisters, are titles by Heather Morris. This is a non-fiction book. There is a lot of good information on how to really listen but the book doesn't read as a self help/learning type book but more of a behind the scenes of her books and writing process. The information about her research of her books is interesting But, for me, there was a bit too much repetition and if you have not read her previous books you would not be able to relate very well with this title.

Listening Well by Heather Morris is a profound novel! I loved this book as I highly admired the authors books- The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Three Sisters, and Silka's Journey, and this novel was the background and emotional process of bringing these stories to light. Heather Morris also speaks about the art of listening well, the tole it can take, and the affects it can have on others. I found this book interesting and meaningful. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Heather Morris is an auto-buy author for me. Any book I see by her I will buy it. She is a great storyteller and her characters pop off the pages.

Heather Morris is such a gifted writer who is really REALLY talented by taking people's stories and bringing them to life in order to share them with the world

Listening well, that is what she does best and I love that she shares how she does it. she truly understands that you need to listen everyone differently. Almost like you have to have a different listening styles for each person depending on how they tell their stories.

As always, Heather really gets to the point and I adore her and all her books!

If you have never read this author…you are missing out! She has three super good books: The Tattooist of Auschwitz , Three Sisters and my absolute favorite, Cilka’s Journey. Listening Well is a non fiction book about how the author came upon these stories and how she ended up writing novels instead of screen plays. Her relationship with Lale, the tattooist of Auschwitz, is very intriguing and unique. I so enjoyed getting to know him through her eyes!

I would have loved this more if the author had narrated it herself. Just my opinion. I think her expressions when she discussed many aspects of this book would have added so much. But, Nicolette McKenzie did a very good job.

Need a good nonfiction with a great story to tell…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

When I was a child, I learned from my grandmother that sometimes, listening to others speak teaches you more than a textbook, but sometimes, we just don't listen. Heather Morris shares her own experiences on how she listens, but also how she's failed to listen.
This is a book every generation should read.

This was a fascinating account of how Heather Morris came to write her best-selling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz. A special relationship developed as Lale Sokolov entrusted the stories from his horrific life during the Holocaust to an author who had special listening skills. Thank goodness for the books that Heather Morris and other authors have written to bring history to life. Listening Well also offers up some valuable advice for all of us to become better listeners. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy to read and review.

Listening Well is a memoir that emphasizes the importance of listening to others. Heather Morris points out how in her generation it was rude to ask our elders anything but to listen. This resonated with me (being raised in the 70’s). However, there is more to just listening. I didn’t really understand her self-help tip questions to ask someone. If someone is a bit interested in someone else’s life, they would/should simply ask.
This book was a bit everywhere. It starts off with Global Warming and Covid. Then about her dysfunction family and how she and her mother did not get along. Then she repeats the interview process of her novel, Tatooist of Aushwitz. Which I have read.
Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an egalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read historical fiction books by this author and I thought they were good. This sounded like something I would really enjoy. There were parts of this book that I did really like and am thankful that she took the time to write about the art of listening. I loved hearing about her relationship with her grandfather and how he impacted her from a very young age.
When she was sharing about Lale and how she came to write the book The Tattooist of Auschwitz, I found it very interesting. She mentions that she did not write or record anything because she needed to give him her undivided attention. That is a sign of a good listener. She talks about ways that people who have suffered extreme trauma and who are grieving may respond and it was great information.

In her book she talks about listening to the elderly and to children as well as to your own self. I thought these were great pieces of information as well. I do think every situation is different as every individual is also different.

The part of this book that I did not like was the repetitive nature of it. There are parts of Lale's story that she shares at the beginning and then she repeats the exact same thing a couple of more times. This happens with other tidbits as well and as a reader it just makes the read feel choppy and disjointed or like she is forgetting what she has already shared with us. It also made the book a bit boring to read at times. While I enjoyed hearing about her experiences with these survivors it just didn't feel like the book made sense. Was she telling their stories again in this format or was she trying to write a book about listening? While I understand the two go hand in hand and it is what helped her write her books, it was frustrating to read. (less)

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to love a book this much. I am not typically a fan of nonfiction- I love a good story. But Heather Morris, who is a fantastic storyteller, managed to turn this book into just that- nonfiction that reads as a great story. While drawing on her own experiences listening to her grandfather, she walks us through the joy of coming to know someone through active listening. I loved that she also used so many extra stories of her time with Lale Sokolov (Tattooist of Auschwitz) and how we really got to see his personality come through even more. I appreciated hearing how she approached her meetings with Lale and how she insisted on historical accuracy when writing up her final copy. I consider myself a pretty good listener, but I learned so much from this book that I hope to incorporate into my own conversations in the future. Truly, Mrs. Morris is a gem and I love that I had the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This non-fiction offering by best-selling author Heather Morris did not disappoint! The author discusses the background stories of her other bestselling books and the importance of being mindful while listening to the stories of others. Heather Morris is skilled at taking the stories of others' and writing beautiful and meaningful text that readers everywhere benefit from hearing. While some of the sections were mildly repetitive, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

Listening Well
by: Heather Morris
St. Martin's Press
Pub Date: 8/2/22
Biographies and Memoirs

Listening Well is a very personal and enlightening account of author Heather Morris' journey as a listener. She is well known as the author of The Tatooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey. In her new memoir, Morris conveys the purpose and techniques of listening in communication and sharing stories.

Regardless of the language we speak, listening is an art form that can unite us. Morris shares intimate details about interviews she has conducted as research for her books. She also gives insight into the importance of hearing about the lives of older people, in their own words.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #ListeningWell #StMartinsPress
#HeatherMorris

Happy Pub Day!

I am a huge fan of Heather Morris. I loved all of her books, and this one was no different. This was a beautiful and insightful book. As it is Heather Morris’s personal story and opinions, I find it difficult to give this book a star rating. Morris shares her experiences listening to Holocaust survivors, how she created the relationships and why she believes that these survivors chose her to tell their story. There were parts of her story that were not told in her books and she shares the reasons why in Listening Well. I found that some of her books resonated deeply with me and other parts I did not agree fully with, making her seem very human. At times she was difficult on how she handled parts of her life and other parts she praised herself. I felt it was a very real memoir - one that she did not write to make herself look good or bad, but very real.

For anyone interested in historical fiction and how certain writers are giving the power to write others stories, I would absolutely read this book.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reeader copy

Listening Well is part memoir and part self-help by one of the best-seller historical fiction authors who wrote The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey, and Three Sisters. It is essentially about the power of listening. I had access to both the kindle and audiobook versions, and I enjoyed listening to Heather Morris narrating her book. It gave the book a more personal feel. I enjoyed listening to her personal stories and how she used her active listening approaches for interviews for research for her possible new stories.

My favorite sections were her reflections on her interviews with both Lale and Cilka. We rarely get extensive author notes on the novels authors have written, so I enjoyed seeing what Morris endured while interviewing both of them. It was interesting to learn that Lale did not want to tell his story to someone Jewish because he did not want the person to be biased. Although it was hard for Morris to gain his trust, she successfully did by actively listening to what he was saying. It is pretty inspiring knowing that she was able to tell factual holocaust stories by forming genuine relationships with both individuals.

The other sections were less interesting but still essential to the book. Listening is one of the most crucial parts of any relationship, and Morris provided practical information about how to be a better listener and actively engaged in a conversation. I think anyone can benefit from these helpful tips