A review by whatmidoreads
Stories of Hope: Finding Inspiration in Everyday Lives by Heather Morris

emotional informative medium-paced

2.0

I just finished this 300-page book, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.

The main issue I had was with the genres — self-help and autobiography — because based on the title, I assumed it would be a collection of short stories about people whose experiences took place during World War II. The cover reinforced that idea even more. But clearly, that wasn’t the case.

The book focuses more on the author’s personal anecdotes, though it doesn’t feel entirely autobiographical. In each story, she offers advice or life lessons, leaning more into the self-help side of things: listening to others, but above all, listening to yourself.

I feel that if the book had been developed, executed, and structured differently, it could have been one of the best I’ve read in 24 hours.

Stories of Hope has a lot to offer for those more open to this kind of narrative style. And even though it wasn’t for me, I’m willing to give another of her books a try — like The Tattooist of Auschwitz — because stories like “Ian’s Story,” “Cilka’s Journey,” and “Listening to Lale” in Stories of Hope made me realize the author has potential. This particular book just wasn’t for me.