Listening Below the Noise - by Anne D LeClaire (Paperback)

About the Book

A critically acclaimed novelist offers an enlightening look at the joys and benefits of silence and shows how it can transform people's daily lives. 19 b&w photos throughout.

Book Synopsis

"Listening Below the Noise offers readers the possibility of finding grace and peace in the natural world and in ourselves. Elegant and honest... one of those rare books that finds its way into our hearts, and stays there." -- Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle

A meditation on silence, the art of being present, and simple spirituality from critically acclaimed novelist Anne D. LeClaire (Entering Normal, The Lavender Hour), Listening Below the Noise offers a practical path to achieving calm, peaceful solitude in hectic lives. Practitioners of yoga and meditation of various traditions have long known the curative powers of stillness; in Listening Below the Noise, LeClaire offers her own unique, compelling version of this ancient wisdom tradition.

From the Back Cover

When Anne D. LeClaire decided to turn an ordinary Monday into a day of silence, little did she realize she had begun an inner voyage that would transform her life.

In the seventeen years since, LeClaire has practiced total silence two days each month. By detaching herself from the bustle of her hectic lifestyle and learning to listen to her deepest self, she has found a center from which to live--one that tests, strengthens, and heals her. In practicing silence, she has discovered her own secret garden--a cloistered, sacred private place where true personal growth is possible.

In this eloquent book--part memoir, part philosophical inquiry, written with clarity and warm humor--LeClaire reflects on how silence can help us expand our awareness, ignite and nurture creativity, and achieve inner peace.

Review Quotes

"Eloquent and moving. . . . Although technically a memoir, this book moves beyond that genre into spirituality and philosophy. LeClaire's reputation as a novelist may draw readers to this lovely book, which should also have crossover appeal to spiritual seekers of any religion and no religion." - Booklist
"Against the cacophony that pervades our lives, novelist LeClaire (The Lavender Hour) offers a persuasive antidote: silence. . . . LeClaire's prose is colloquial, friendly and familiar, and the book is as much memoir as it is inspiration." - Publishers Weekly
"Anne D. LeClaire illuminates the treasures that can be found in the practice of silence. But the book does much, much more. It offers readers the possibility of finding grace and peace in the natural world and in ourselves. Elegant and honest, Listening Below the Noise is one of those rare books that finds its way into our hearts, and stays there, working its magic again and again." - Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle
"Luminous." - The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
"Engaging. . . . Poetic and intimate. . . . A refreshing and important book for an age in which people increasingly tend to avoid silence, continually tuning in to noise and information." - The Rumpus
"LeClaire leads us gently and persuasively through her inspirational experience." - Carole Goldberg, Hartford Courant
"Beautifully written. . . . LeClaire has discovered the key to calm and bliss." - Spirituality and Practice