Every now and then I get in a reading mood. This past Sunday I picked up a paperback copy of “Night” by Elie Wiesel. I faintly remember reading it while in high school and had seen a hardback copy of it at Barnes and Noble recently. That being said, when I saw it for 99 cents at a thrift store (and in good shape), I gladly plunked down some loose change to buy it. Three hours later, after a grande coffee at Starbucks, I finished it and went home.
“Night” is Wiesel’s recollection of being sent to a German concentration camp during World War II. It’s a short but powerful read. The particular edition I had purchased also contained a copy of his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. One line in the speech jumped out at me and forced me to re-read it several times:
“Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.”
If you haven’t read it before, I’d recommend you do so. If it’s been a while, read it again.