Scala Radio Book Club: Stories of Hope by Heather Morris
An inspiring series of tales from the international best-selling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Last updated 8th Oct 2020
Simon Mayo’s Scala Radio Book Club guest on Thursday 17th September was the bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris.
Heather joined Simon via telephone from Melbourne to discuss her new book, Stories of Hope.
Stories of Hope has been described as a ‘deeply touching, humble and filled with wisdom’. It explores the extremes of human behaviour whilst reflecting on the importance of listening and the ‘exceptional power of stories to heal and inspire’.
The ‘art of listening’ is a key theme throughout Stories of Hope, as Heather explained, through the memory of her great grandfather: “I had this one extraordinary man in my life, he was my great-grandfather. He lived two paddocks away from where I did, and maybe because he had four brothers, he felt the need to bond with me. But he did, and he became this person in my life who would tell me about his life, and in telling me about his life, he taught me how to listen to what he was saying… and not just to listen to him, but to listen to anything and nothing, because even when you think you’re listening and it’s silent… it’s not. You will listen and hear what’s around you, even if it’s just white noise a lot of the time. If you’re a 10 or 11-year-old, and you actively listen. People will speak to you.”
"We listen to reply, we don’t listen to understand,” suggested Simon.
“We can’t get in our two bobs’ worth!”, Heather quipped. “It’s all very well having someone telling you something, but we’ll hear a percentage of it, just enough for us to formulate our response. That’s human nature. I get it. I do it all the time myself. But sometimes, take the time to stop, shut up, and listen to that person you are talking to. Even if a few moments of silence come into it, don’t feel the need to fill it. If you don’t, often I found that person will continue to talk, and tell you something they desperately want to tell you or tell somebody. So, don’t fill the silence, shut up, and you’ll be amazed in what you might hear and what you might learn. You never learn anything when you’re talking. When you’re talking. All you’re doing is repeating something you already know!"
In Stories of Hope, Heather Morris presents an inspiring series of tales from remarkable people she has met, the incredible stories they have shared with her, and the lessons they hold for us all.
What was Heather Morris' music choice on Scala Radio Book Club?
Heather’s music choice was Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), 2nd Movement. Heather explained the connection between the piece, how she writes, and her relationship with Lale Sokolov, the holocaust survivor she befriended and whose story forms the basis of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. “This piece of music, I played every day for just over 4 weeks. When I was adapting Lale’s story from the screenplay into the novel I was sitting up on Big Bear mountain in California, in the middle of their winter. Just me, alone, with two squirrels. Every morning before I started work, I would sit down, listen to this piece of music and just close my eyes. It transported me emotionally into the world that Lale and the others had endured and survived, and it just really empowered me to write the best I could and tell that story. It’s hard for me to put into words the emotion I get every time I hear it… It’s just emotionally stunning”.