Third Ear: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening [Paperback]

This illuminating book weaves personal stories of a multilingual upbringing with the latest scientific breakthroughs in interspecies communication to show how the skill of deep listening enhances our curiosity and empathy toward the world around us

Third Ear braids together personal narrative with scholarly inquiry to examine the power of listening to build interpersonal empathy and social transformation. A daughter of Holocaust survivors, Rosner shares stories from growing up in a home where six languages were spoken to interrogate how psychotherapy, neurolinguistics, and creativity can illuminate the complex ways we are impacted by the sounds and silences of others.

Drawing on expertise from journalists, podcasters, performers, translators, acoustic biologists, spiritual leaders, composers, and educators, this hybrid text moves fluidly along a spectrum from molecular to global to reveal how third-ear listening can be a collective means for increased understanding and connection to the natural world.Literary Hub, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year

A lively, perceptive book about how and what we hear. —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times

Pay attention. That’s the core message of the Berkeley writer’s brisk, collage-like book, a blend of memoir, her interviews with attentive people from various professions and findings from scientific studies . . . This book exudes an irresistible brand of eagerness—for knowledge, for the perspectives of strangers, for tomorrow and the day after. As quoted by Rosner, a scientist who works with endangered elephants says the animals 'need more people to care about them.' Caring, in Rosner’s appealing formulation, is indistinguishable from listening. —Kevin Canfield, San Francisco Chronicle