Music and Mind

Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness

By: Renée Fleming - editor, Francis S. Collins MD PhD

Narrated by: Gina Daniels, Carin Gilfry, Patty Nieman, Cary Hite, Vikas Adam, Renée Fleming

Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

"This book inspires us all to immerse ourselves in the vast potential of music and other creative arts to heal our wounds, sharpen our minds, enliven our bodies, and restore our broken connections.”—Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score

World-renowned soprano and arts/health advocate Renée Fleming curates a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and healthcare providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experience

A compelling and growing body of research has shown music and arts therapies to be effective tools for addressing a widening array of conditions, from providing pain relief and alleviating anxiety and depression to regaining speech after stroke or traumatic brain injury, and improving mobility for people with disorders that include Parkinson’s disease and MS.

In Music and Mind Renée Fleming draws upon her own experience as an advocate to showcase the breadth of this booming field, inviting leading experts to share their discoveries. In addition to describing therapeutic benefits, the book explores evolution, brain function, childhood development, and technology as applied to arts and health.

Much of this area of study is relatively new, made possible by recent advances in brain imaging, and supported by the National Institutes of Health, major hospitals, and universities. This work is sparking an explosion of public interest in the arts and health sector.

Fleming has presented on this material in over fifty cities across North America, Europe, and Asia, collaborating with leading researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners. With essays from notable musicians, writers, and artists, as well as leading neuroscientists, Music and Mind is a groundbreaking book, the perfect introduction and overview of this exciting new field.

*This program includes a downloadable PDF containing key images and visual aids from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Renee Fleming (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“At a time when the bonds of our common humanity are being stretched to the limits, at the same time as the intensifying stresses on our personal well-being, Renée’s book is a timely reminder that music is the meta language that connects all individuals and spans all cultures, religions, and races. Music has never been more important.”—Sting

“This lyrical book opens our hearts and minds to the vast potential of the creative arts—music, dance, and synchronous movements—to sooth, comfort and connect to each other, and thereby promote health and well-being. The authors, some of the most luminous musicians, dancers, physicians, and neuroscientists of our time, all are deeply engaging, sometimes even magical, writers. This book inspires us all to immerse ourselves in the vast potential of music and other creative arts to heal our wounds, sharpen our minds, enliven our bodies, and restore our broken connections.”—Bessel van der Kolk

“Renée Fleming has the voice of an angel and the brain of a scholar. Her boundless curiosity has enabled her to assemble a myriad of experts to explore this exciting new field of science. Her work has given me a new appreciation of the wonders of music and the impact it has on our brains as well as our lives.”—Katie Couric

Sound Matters

The content is excellent. One thing that stuck out for me was the audio quality of some of the reader voices which sounded almost robotic. Considering the subject of this book and excellence of the writing and contributors, that was a distraction and made it challenging at times to listen, as I wondered whether and hoped that AI wasn’t used to deliver the narrative.