“Towers breathes new life into the familiar soundscape of our modern existence”
—Calabryan Holder, Linden Review
Published March 1, 2023
The University of Nebraska Press
THE SOUND OF UNDOING: A MEMOIR IN ESSAYS
THE SOUND OF UNDOING deconstructs the way sound has overwhelmingly shaped the author's life. Each essay focuses on a different sound, some perceptible—like the sound of a loon call or gunshot—and others abstract—like the sound of awakening. Given a hypersensitivity to noise from which she has both suffered and benefited from since childhood, Towers uses these sounds as a starting point for making sense of past events. She reflects on the estrangement of a beloved sister, sexual abuse and assault, and the link between mental illness and noise in her family, as well as nature, religion, violence, and other themes.
Experimental in form and provocative in content, The Sound of Undoing also makes use of research on silence, nature, noise pollution, sound art, ASMR, and the acoustic environment in general. By exploring memories and feelings triggered by certain noises, this lyrical meditation untangles a life infused with meaning through sound.
Praise & Reviews for The Sound of Undoing
Winner of the 2024 Wisconsin Library Association Literary Award
Winner of the 2024 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award
Winner of the 2024 Eric Hoffer Academic Press Award
Shortlisted for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize
“The Sound of Undoing is for any person who’s been told they are too sensitive to the burdens of our times. Spanning sister grief, noise exposure, and estrangement from self and society, Paige Towers investigates the echoing possibilities—attuned to both joy and trauma—of everyday sounds. Celebrating the minuscule and the immense in equal measure, this memoir is a real contribution to our understanding of the aural and emotional landscapes of womanhood.”
—Kristen Millares Young, author of Subduction
“Towers guides us through her discoveries of sound—its presence, absence, and lyrical implications. But it always comes back to love. This book explores what it means to perceive the world in surprising ways by showing us how we can understand what tethers us to our relationships and hold what we cannot see to the light with faith.”
—Su Cho, author of The Symmetry of Fish
"The Sound of Undoing marks the emergence of a bold voice in creative nonfiction. It asks us to turn our collective ears to the cacophonous and the sonorous, the mundane and the sublime. Towers breathes new life into the familiar soundscape of our modern existence, asking us to rediscover the wondrousness of our sound-filled world."
—Calabryan Holder, Linden Review
“This book gifted me a deeper awareness of noise—its powers to depress or delight, estrange or connect. . . . Part anguished lament, part rapturous ode, Paige Towers has given us a portrait of overwhelming sensation.”
—Gabrielle Bates, author of Judas Goat