Hannah Aster, Author at Shortform Books

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp: Lale’s Secret

In The Tattooist of Auschwitz, how did Lale set up an outside connection from Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp? How did his smuggling service come in handy? Although Lale was afraid of getting caught, he found an outside connection and set up a small smuggling service inside Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. It was thanks to this connection that he was able to procure Penicillin and save Gita’s life Keep reading to learn about Lale’s secret, smuggling enterprise in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Lale’s Concentration Camp Escape Meant More Danger

How did Lale make his concentration camp escape? How did he jump out of the pot and into the fire? In Heather Morris’ historical fiction novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Lale escapes a concentration camp in Vienna. He ran into Russian soldiers who he thought might help him, but quickly realized he was forced into another dangerous situation. Continue reading about Lale’s concentration camp escape.

Breaking Out of Homeostasis: Reach New Levels

How can breaking out of homeostasis help you reach new mental and physical levels? Is it possible to push yourself beyond your limits without burning yourself out? By pushing your body or mind hard enough and long enough, you can “trick” it into using its desire for homeostasis to your advantage. Over time, your body will change in ways that enable you to run that extra mile or lift that extra 50 pounds. The more you push yourself, the more the structure and chemistry of your brain will adapt to breaking out of homeostasis. Keep reading to learn how breaking

The Death by Meeting Book Backstory: Casey and Yip

In Patrick Lencioni’s book, Death by Meeting, how did Yip CEO Casey go from a PGA golfer to making videogames? What factors halted Yip’s potential growth? Patrick Lencioni’s book Death by Meeting is a business parable about a CEO named Casey who doesn’t know how to lead a productive team meeting. Casey gave up his golf career after a case of the yips and decided to turn his passion for golf into a videogame. Continue reading to learn more about how Casey started Yip Software in the Death by Meeting book.

Build a Company Process to Avoid Corporate Politics

How do you know when it’s time to start building an official process at your company? How can well-defined processes help minimize company politics? When adding new employees feels harder than adding more work to your current employees and it’s hindering growth, it’s time to build processes. Processes may seem tedious, but without processes, workplace politics develop and make it a bad place to work. Continue on to learn how to build a company process.

Descriptions of Heaven From Colton Burpo’s Visit

What are Colton Burpo’s descriptions of Heaven? Do they match those from the Bible? Could he have gone to Heaven if he didn’t die? In Heaven Is for Real, toddler Colton Burpo claims he went to Heaven during a surgery on his appendix. Over the next few years, Colton reveals descriptions of Heaven to his father, pastor Todd. Keep reading for Colton’s descriptions of Heaven.

Cal Newport’s Tips: How To Reply to Emails Effectively

Is responding to emails sucking up your precious work time? How can you set up a work email policy and reply effectively? If you want to know how to reply to emails effectively, follow this guide based off of Cal Newport’s book Deep Work. Newport explains that emails are shallow work and sometimes it’s better not to respond at all. But when you do need to respond, here is advice on how. Keep reading for Cal Newport’s advice on responding to emails.

Lale Eisenberg: Inspiration for The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Who was Lale Eisenberg? Was Lale a real person or a fictional character? How did Lale end up in Auschwitz? Lale Eisenberg (who later adopted the name Lale Sokolov) was a real Holocaust survivor. The book The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on Lale’s story as told to the author 70 years after the events. The book is considered to be historical fiction rather than a biography, however, because the author used creative license when telling Lale’s story. Keep reading to learn about Lale Eisenberg.

Lovers in Auschwitz: Lale and Gita’s Love Story

Lale and Gita were lovers in Auschwitz, but did that love continue after they escaped? Did they get the happily ever after they always longed for? In the book The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Lale and Gita were lovers in Auschwitz. After the fall of the concentration camp, they both escaped separately and were reunited in Bratislava. They faced many challenges in life, but after what they went through in Auschwitz, Lale and Gita could handle anything together. Keep reading to learn what the lovers in Auschwitz did after their escape.

Perform Better: Create a Mental Representation

What is a mental representation? Why is creating a mental representation the key to reaching peak performance? Mental representations are templates that correspond to objects, ideas, or anything else that the brain might be thinking about. The key to peak performance is developing efficient and effective mental representations. Keep reading to learn more about mental representations and how you can use them to improve performance in almost any area of expertise.