OPEN HEART

When Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel discovers, at age 82, that he has five blocked arteries and faces emergency open-heart surgery, not surprisingly, he reflects on his life. In this beautiful, heart-wrenching memoir, narrated with sensitivity and tenderness by Mark Bramhall, Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and much-honored author, wonders whether he’s lived up to his covenant with God, whether he’s done enough with the precious gift of life. Bramhall allows the author’s humanity to shine, especially as he rejoices in his great good fortune, the love of his wife and family. Bramhall treats Wiesel’s emotional, intimate, and painful revelations with respect, showing this towering figure as an ordinary extraordinary man who has made the world a better place for his being in it. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2012]