A compelling historyof silence as a shaper of the human mind-in prisons, in places of contemplation, and in our own lives-from the author of Brilliant. Through her evocativeintertwined histories of the penitentiary and the monastery, Jane Brox illuminates the many ways silence is farmore complex than any absolute; how it has influenced ideas of the self, soul, and society.Brox traces its place asa transformativepower in the monastic worldfrom Medieval Europe to the very public life of twentieth century monk Thomas Merton, whose love forsilence deepened even as he faced his obligation to speak out against war. This fascinating history of ideas also explores the influencethe monastic cell had on one of society's darkest experiments in silence: Eastern State Penitentiary. Conceived of by one of theFounding Fathers and built on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the penitentiary's early promulgators imagined redemption in imposedisolation, but theybadlymisapprehended silence's dangers. Finally, Brox's richexploration of silence's complex and competing meaningsleads us toimagine howwemightnavigate our own relationship withsilence today, for the transformation it has always promised, in our own lives. "Brox writes beautifully . . . Silence for her is a force of nature, awe provoking, like lightning, capable of electrocuting us and of illuminating the night." -The New York Times Book Review "Silenceis an uncommon book on an increasingly uncommon phenomenon, a gift to be treasured in the din of daily life." -Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author "A perceptive and subtle meditation about a 'true reckoning with the self.'" -Kirkus Reviews