The Lost Art of Silence: Reconnecting to the Power and Beauty of Quiet Paperback – 5 Dec. 2023

Sarah makes you feel you are on the journey with her - this is a beautifully written book and the research is so impressive. But my favourite passage is a description of Sarah's perfect 'profound silence of my life' found in the Antarctic - 'there was a feeling of completeness ... there was no anticipation and therefore no let down afterward. Indeed, the aftermath brought a feeling of deep peace.' Wouldn't we all want to experience this? I certainly do and i shall continue searching. A wonderful book which I shall go back to time and time again.

This is an imaginative and perceptive book; for its account of the many different qualities and meanings of silence- movingly, of Sarah Anderson's personal experience, her adventures towards what she calls 'true silence', and for it's impressively wide- ranging enquiry into that same search in different cultures throughout time and place; the practice of mediation in so many different faiths, the sense of how meditative silence and attention can enable a sense of wonder and beauty, in music, art and literature. In painting- the limpid placing of an angel in an altarpiece by Piero della Francesca, or the quiet spaces within a still life, can take us to that silent, attentive place. I hope this book is read within schools- I was profoundly impressed that periods of deliberate silence, and a policy of silent walking from class to class- had such a wonderful effect on schoolchildren, with rising academic achievements , and a happier atmosphere within school; ' silence ' one headteacher reports ' creates a very mutually respectful relationship between students and staff'. How sad that Selfridges abandoned their experiment to create a 'quiet' place - I hope this book might prompt them , and other public spaces, such as parks, to dedicate specifically chosen spaces to Contemplation and Silence

This is a terrific read, it broadens the mine again and again. I realised I'd been duped by the idea of silence. Anderson showed me - in a wide variety of ways and with a huge number of sources - that turning off the radio or being alone does not necessarily result in silence. Indeed, it's unlikely to. Noise continues outside the room, inside the mind, in garden hedges. Finding silence takes a concerted effort. I especially liked her report of some composers saying music is about the silence between two notes. It has opened up a whole new way of listening!

Clever but not annoyingly clever. Makes us think about what it means to be alive in a world of noise and distraction. I thoroughly recommend The Lost Art of Silence. It made this reader pause and reassess how we relate to the world of information overload we inhabit.

A timely reminder to do less and have quiet time, it’s helpful for my mental health an easy gentle read

Sarah Anderson’s The Lost Art of Silence is a tour de force. She explores the nature of silence, and how it is to be found, in music, art and literature, in different cultures and across time, with astonishing erudition, lightly borne. This is a welcome series of insights in a noisy and hyper-active world. She weaves in her own experience and extends it into many fields. Among these are the contemplative traditions of east and west, in which she bears witness to Buddhist, Christian and other faiths and practices, inclluding persusively the desert fathers and mothers of the early church. She even manages to bring in the terrifying silence present in war.She brings to mind the classic novel by the Japanese writer Shusaku Edo, Silence, (made into a film by Martin Scorcese) about religious persecution in 17C Japan., about the silence of God in the midst of suffering- the key insight being that God is present in the suffering. Silence is a means to listening and to understanding, both of other people and of life’s perplexing situations. Sarah Anderson writes with singular grace. Her book is compelling; opening doors to some of deepest challenges of our times, above all our failure to communicate., with ourselves and with others.Peter Maxwell

In a world of non-stop chatter - the hum of the iPhone like Eve tempted by an asp disturbing a moment's peace as we take a quick look, the YouTube video featuring some politician lying or making a fool of himself, the unsettling news from the battlefront, this one or that one. I hate to admit it but I've been walking the streets learning Spanish with a new app and headphones.I believe things sometimes happen because they are supposed to happen. Just when I had started thinking I needed to make some changes, to get off social media and Radio 4, I came across The Lost Art of Silence. It was just what I needed.Sarah Anderson, an artist, writer, traveller, had gone through those same doubts as myself and discovered in stillness, in silence, we become more open, more creative, that in the vacuum ideas take wing like invisible birds . All great music begins with silence. Every unwritten book begins with a blank page and a pause.The Lost Art of Silence is a reference, a meditation, a well-written but more importantly, well constructed guide to a live a quieter, more fulfilling life.

The author has written a wide-ranging account of silence. She starts with her own experience and her own use of silence and uses that as an entry into a deeply thoughtful account of what we mean by silence and the role it plays in our lives, and the lives of others. It is not a 'how to' book but, by writing about silence so wisely she enabled me to understand it more fully in all its richness.

This book takes the reader on the author's own fascinating journey of discovery. In her quest to understand the meaning of silence she travels and reads widely, and thinks deeply. Silence can be golden, but it can also have a dark side. Anderson leaves no stone unturned in her delicate handling of a profound subject.