I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of

the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time, taking time to be more fully present.

Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right

now.

When does not a word I use loosely? I'm proud to call Ellie Vizel, a friend for the past decade.

He was born in 1928 in Segette, Transylvania, now a part of Romania. One of four children he had

two older sisters, Hilda and Beatrice, and one younger named Zapura. In 1944, Ellie was 15 when

the Nazis deported him and his family to Auschwitz. By the time the camps were liberated by the

Allied troops, less than a year later, his mother, father, and youngest sister had all perished.

After the war, Ellie embarked on a new life in Paris and became a journalist. It wasn't until

he turned 30 that he decided to break his silence about his experiences during the war in a book called

Night. Since its publication in 1958, Night has been translated into 30 languages, has been read

by millions of people. In 2006, I chose it for my book club and I had the privilege of visiting

Auschwitz with Ellie Vizel as my guide. In 2011, Ellie Vizel was rushed into emergency open

heart surgery. His long road to recovery required a great deal of soul searching which resulted in

this latest book, a powerful work of art that ruminates on questions of life and death that we

all have and what it really means to be human. So may I say what an honor it is to have you here,

my hero, my friend, after surviving open heart surgery last year. How are you feeling?

Today much better. Today much better. First because I'm with you, you know how much, how close I am to you.

Do you still feel that your body was ravaged by the opening of your heart?

It was because I get tired very quickly. I used to walk a lot, no problem, but now if I walk even

five minutes I get tired. Really? In 2006 you and I walked the grounds of Auschwitz together,

...