Rediscovering Silence

In an increasingly noisy, distracting world, the idea of enjoying silence—healthy silence—has become for many people just a mirage. We talk about "a little peace and quiet" not because we experience it regularly, but because it's a joke we tell ourselves when we're overwhelmed.

Silence is on the endangered experiences list. Today, if you're like most people, you'll spend 11 hours today in front of screens, interact with your phone more than 2,000 times, and encounter just as many commercial messages. Silence will hardly make any appearances. Certainly not moments of silence you intentionally planned.

From the anechoic chamber of Microsoft's headquarters to the 36 questions that bring people closer together, from John Cage's "4 minutes and 33 seconds" to Yom HaShoah and the sunken place, this book is an adventure in search of an answer: Is it possible to find ourselves again in silence?

The answer is yes. It's not only possible, but crucial, to rediscover silence, and to begin experiencing life less like noise, and more like music.