A personal and cultural exploration of silence and its value in our lives—“[an] artful book, mixing autobiography, travel writing, meditation, and essay” (Independent, UK). In her late forties, after a noisy upbringing as one of six children and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, Sara Maitland found herself living alone in the country and, to her surprise, falling in love with silence. In this fascinating, intelligent, and beautifully written book, Maitland describes how she began to explore this new love, spending periods of silence in the Sinai desert, the Scottish hills, and a remote cottage on the Isle of Skye. Maitland also delves deep into the rich cultural history of silence, exploring its significance in fairy tale and myth, its importance to the Western and Eastern religious traditions, and its use in psychoanalysis and artistic expression. Her story culminates in her building a hermitage on an isolated moor in Galloway. “Her book is probably unique in its subject, and timely, because good, healing silence is becoming hard to find, and we may not know we need it” (Guardian, UK).

A deeply thoughtful, honest and illuminating memoir about a phenomenon too often neglected in the contemporary world.

From the French Abbey of St Wandrille to the abandoned and awesome Rock Monasteries of Cappadocia in Turkey, the celebrated travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor studies the rigorous contemplative lives of the monks and the timeless beauty of their monastic surroundings. In his occasional retreats, the peaceful solitude and the calm enchantment of the monasteries was passed on as a kind of 'supernatural windfall' which A Time to Keep Silence so effortlessly records.

Now with a new afterword by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI! In a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before. Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine, explains the cardinal in this profound conversation with Nicolas Diat. Within the hushed and hallowed walls of the La Grande Chartreux, the famous Carthusian monastery in the French Alps, Cardinal Sarah addresses the following questions: Can those who do not know silence ever attain truth, beauty, or love? Do not wisdom, artistic vision, and devotion spring from silence, where the voice of God is heard in the depths of the human heart? After the international success of God or Nothing, Cardinal Sarah seeks to restore to silence its place of honor and importance. "Silence is more important than any other human work," he says, "for it expresses God. The true revolution comes from silence; it leads us toward God and others so as to place ourselves humbly and generously at their service."

A Witch's Book of Silence will help you deepen your practice and increase the efficacy of your magic. Silence is the space from which creative impulse flows. In silence we touch the power we call God/dess and become attuned to wisdom beyond our own. We learn to commune with the spirits of land, our ancestors and others of the unseen realms. We enter the ineffable mystery sought by ancient and contemporary mystics alike. Through silent communion we attain ecstatic union with the Divine. The book addresses some of the most pressing and controversial concerns of the Craft as both a modern-day movement and private, religious system. A Witch's Book of Silence is a mirror for us individually and collectively. Here we see reflected our beauty and power as well as our fear and foibles. Divided into three segments. The first defines terms, explores concepts and discusses how and why we resist the practice of silence. The second segment offers practices leading the seeker into the heart of silence where the mysteries are revealed . The final segment offers a glimpse of what awaits us should we dare to steep ourselves in the cauldron of transformation. A Witch's Book of Silence is born out of decades of studying, practicing and teaching the art of Witchcraft during which time the author noted the impact of the internet on the transfer of once closely guarded information. The Witch's Pyramid became unbalanced as the powers to Know, Will and Dare were highly sought after while Keeping Silent fell out of fashion--a silly, scary and inconsequential relic of the past. The Witch must confront and overcome her fear and resistance to entering the realms of silence. Keeping silent is necessary to build power, perform effective magic and engage deeply with the mysteries. While written from the perspective of a Feri Witch, the concerns, practices and resolutions offered will be equally valuable when applied to any spiritual path requiring the practitioner develop self-awareness, personal integrity, cognizant communication with spirit and the use of meaningful speech imbued with creative force.

For eleven years, Oakley Farrell has been silent. At the age of five, she stopped talking, and no one seems to know why. Refusing to communicate beyond a few physical actions, Oakley remains in her own little world. Bullied at school, she has just one friend, Cole Benson. Cole stands by her, refusing to believe that she is not perfect the way she is. Over the years, they have developed their own version of a normal friendship. However, will it still work as they start to grow even closer? When Oakley is forced to face someone from her past, can she hold her secret in any longer?

Bestselling author Tim Lebbon's electrifying horror novel - now made into a Netflix original movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka In the darkness of an underground cave system, blind creatures hunt by sound. Then there is light, there are voices, and they feed... Swarming from their prison, the creatures thrive and destroy. To scream, even to whisper, is to summon death. As the hordes lay waste to Europe, a girl watches to see if they will cross the sea. Deaf for many years, she knows how to live in silence; now, it is her family's only chance of survival. To leave their home, to shun others, to find a remote haven where they can sit out the plague. But will it ever end? And what kind of world will be left?