Turning Down The Noise: The quiet power of silence in a busy world

Christine Jackman

Sep 2020 · Allen & Unwin

About this ebook

'A great Australian journalist on a deeply personal assignment: treading bravely, beautifully into the wonder of silence.' - TRENT DALTON

'I would never think of myself as a silent retreat person but I kind of felt like Jackman went in my place! She writes so thoughtfully and clearly about feelings that are hard to describe - it's very impressive. Writing a book about something essentially ungraspable is a very bold decision, but thanks to her journalistic method and assured style, Jackman has pulled it off. A counterintuitive modern odyssey in which the heroine sets out from a land of deafening overplenty in search of ... less. Beautifully researched.' - ANNABEL CRABB

Author Christine Jackman knew her life looked successful - an executive position in Sydney, a house in a harbourside suburb, meetings with CEOs and phone calls with government ministers - but it didn't feel that way. Inside, she felt constantly off balance, her thoughts and internal compass - as well as her ability to care for the people she loved most - drowned out by the noise in her life.
So Jackman embarked on a quest for a better way of being. Turning Down the Noise follows her journey as she explores what is happening to our brains, our lives and our communities as we navigate a never-ending assault on our senses and attention, whether from actual noise, exposure to media or the pings and alerts on our phones. More importantly, she reveals how we can reverse the damage through simple daily acts designed to strip out the stimuli and reclaim the silence.

Seeking ways to channel and capture the clarity and peace of mind so often lacking in our lives, Jackman writes with a lightness of touch, sharing her own experiences and digging into her subject with the zeal of an investigative journalist and an enquiring mind.

About the author

Christine Jackman began her career as a journalist with The Courier-Mail in Brisbane, Australia, in 1993. She has worked in New York as a foreign correspondent for NewsCorp, in the Canberra press gallery and as the social issues writer for The Australian. After several years as an award-winning staff writer for The Weekend Australian Magazine, Christine embraced freelance journalism, with features published in Good Weekend, Vogue and The Australian Women's Weekly. She is also a communications consultant.