Hark - by Alice Vincent (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

We're told women are good at listening, but we rarely examine what they're listening to, what their worlds sound like, or how it feels to be expected to listen in a world of noise made by men.

Like so many of us, Alice Vincent had become overwhelmed by the sensory overload punctuating our every moment. And then, a baby's heartbeat arrived. A rapid, pulsing whoosh of white noise. An undeniable rhythm. Once again, Alice's life became cacophonous - both with a new child, but also with the societal pressures that motherhood holds.

What followed was a personal quest to rediscover sound as something alive and vital and restorative. Beyond music, Alice's journey takes her into new corners of listening: from the phantom crying heard by mothers across the world to the nightingale's song and the crackle of the Aurora Borealis. As our attention spans shrink and our sense of disconnection grows, Alice wants to find out if sound - seeking it, trying to hold on to it, making space for it in her life - can reconnect her not only to lost parts of herself but to a life more consciously lived. Hark is a book for women who feel unheard and a means of listening more deeply in a world that has grown too loud.

Review Quotes

"Meditative"-- "New Statesman"

"An ardent recommendation . . . Hark offers a heartfelt, powerful exploration of the importance of sound and how it lands for women. The book takes the reader on a moving journey through Vincent's testing times as a young mother and the role music and sensory experiences play in helping forge an identity. It is a book whose themes will surely echo with many readers"-- "Independent"

"A truly beautiful piece of work. Poignant, timely playful and unlike anything I've ever read before. Vincent is the best kind of non-fiction writer - curious about other people's lived experience and generous with her own. This will resonate with so many women who long to be heard"--LAUREN BRAVO

"An important, refreshing and beautiful gift of a book. This book is my favourite of Alice's so far. I am so moved by the way she weaves her story alongside the stories of other women so generously; with such grace. Sound and self, music and mothering, love and loss, breakdown and becoming: Hark speaks to the journey of matrescence so achingly well. I am so grateful it exists"--KERRI NÍ DOCHARTAIGH

"Honest and revelatory, Hark compels you to dumb the din of life, listen to the world anew and learn how to be heard"--MICHELLE OGUNDEHIN

"Immersing myself in the beautiful, deeply thoughtful pages of Hark has a profound effect on me. Reading it has been an incredibly emotional experience, and has made me look at, and listen to, my own world in bright new ways. This book is a quiet yet profound kind of miracle"--CLOVER STROUD

"Stimulating and humane, Hark is vibrating with interesting people and fresh ideas and made me hear with greater attention"--AMY LIPTROT

"Tune out the world for a moment and tune in to these beautiful musings on music, moments, magic and matrescence"--EMMA GANNON

"Unique, profound and joyfully intellectual"--SUNYI DEAN

"Hark not only made me cry, it opened my ears to new kinds of understanding. Gorgeously written, truly sensuous, gut-wrenchingly powerful, heartfelt and real, this is a deeply important book, alive and tuned in to the beautiful cacophony of the world. Hark is Alice Vincent's best book yet"--CHARLOTTE RUNCIE

"A beautiful book, which left me thinking deeply and intimately about my own sonically-charged life. Hark will make you feel more alert to sound, silence and everything in-between and will leave you more curious about what it means to listen and be listened to"--AMY KEY

"As I was reading, I kept thinking of people I wanted to recommend this book to. A wonderful book about becoming a mother but also about being more than a mother - full of surprises"--ROWAN HISAYO BUCHANAN

"I loved this exploration of the ways that sound lands in female bodies. Alice Vincent is on song"--KATHERINE MAY

"In Hark, Alice Vincent sets out to explore how sound can be restorative, and whether listening more deeply might help us reconnect to ourselves and others"--'Best Books to Look Out For in 2025' "Independent"

About the Author

Alice Vincent is a writer. She is the author of four books, including Why Women Grow and Rootbound: Rewilding a Life, both longlisted for the Wainwright Prize and named as 'Books of the Year' by the Financial Times, Independent, Stylist and others. Alice is a columnist for the Guardian and New Statesman and writes for titles including Vogue, Financial Times and the Sunday Times. She writes savour, a newsletter dedicated to the delicious things in life, and hosts the Why Women Grow and In Haste podcasts. She lives in South London.

@alicevincentwrites @alice_emily