Open Heart

A Memoir

By: Elie Wiesel, Marion Wiesel - translator

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Translated by Marion Wiesel

A profoundly and unexpectedly intimate, deeply affecting summing up of his life so far, from one of the most cherished moral voices of our time.

Eighty-two years old, facing emergency heart surgery and his own mortality, Elie Wiesel reflects back on his life. Emotions, images, faces and questions flash through his mind. His family before and during the unspeakable Event. The gifts of marriage and children and grandchildren that followed. In his writing, in his teaching, in his public life, has he done enough for memory and the survivors? His ongoing questioning of God—where has it led? Is there hope for mankind? The world’s tireless ambassador of tolerance and justice has given us this luminous account of hope and despair, an exploration of the love, regrets and abiding faith of a remarkable man.

Critic reviews

“A successful husband, father, grandfather, teacher, and writer, [Mr. Wiesel] is an asset to humankind. He has turned despondency into a message of approval and optimism…Mr. Wiesel packages equal parts beauty and astonishing description in an impossibly concise manner. Few authors have possessed such capacity for succinctness and brevity with magnificent dexterity.”
-NY Journal of Books

“An absorbing, clear-eyed reflection on [Wiesel’s] own mortality and a candid account of a life lived…Open Heart is Wiesel at his most vulnerable and his most determined, and his thoughts and ideas have never been so lucidly conveyed.”
-The Rumpus

“The reader…becomes a quiet observer of Wiesel’s thoughts, which are plagued by the question: ‘Am I ready to die?’ His answer, clearly, is no…What seems like a quick and easy read actually delves deeply into the philosophical and makes you wonder: Will I be ready when it’s my time?”
—The Free Lance-Star

Great man with a life s story everyone should read especially young people

This is his second book I've read and both are outstanding reads. So much can be learned from our elders if we would just slow down and listen to them.

Good, quick read

I had to read this for class. it was a good, quick read. I liked it.

One of my top 3 favorites of his for sure

I have read several of his works. My favorites are Night and From the Kingdom of Memory. This one goes right up there. It is sincerely moving, beautiful and masterfully simple. Nothing I did not like.

Every Moment is a New Beginning

I had the privilege to listen to Elie Wiesel as the keynote speaker at my son’s University Graduation. Imagine an audience of 8,000 or so, students and parents, crammed armpit to armpit in the blazing sun of a hot St. Louis high-noon. A distinguished man makes his way to the podium after being introduced, within seconds of pleasantries the audience is mesmerized. In the sea of humanity, the only sound is of this gentleman’s clear voice and perhaps the accidental chatter of a few squirrels. Who knew then that one month hence this story would start for him?

This introspection of his open-heart surgery is at times intense, often moving and always insightful. For a man who has witnessed so much, his optimism in fellow man is unbounded: he urges us to grasp “every moment is a new beginning” and “… go on minute to minute.” The description of he and his son will especially pull at your heart. He urgent and continual plea is for us to battle against indifference and resignation and to "not sit idly by."

This is a must read book because of its simple truths. After all, simple truths are what speak to us most. Those truths help us understand and reach for goals that inspire and guide or moral compass. I very much recommend this exceptionally short listen. It will appeal widely to those who have a lot of mileage on their souls regardless of which religion you embrace. For those of us you have faced death and struggled back, it is especially moving.

Short biography

This is an excellent biography of Elie Weisel reflecting on his open heart surgery. I am so grateful to have listened to the thoughts of this wise man who has experienced the unimaginable.