An ethologist and a musician, Virginie Pape is a lecturer in palliative care and gerontology at the University of Toulon, as well as a consultant for various institutions.
The book is prefaced by Bernard Golse, child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Chief of Child Psychiatry at Necker Children’s Hospital, in Paris, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Paris V — and a musician.

Without our being aware of it, a distant music is constantly, barely perceptibly, playing in the background. Some of us whistle, others hum the tunes that accompany us throughout our lives. But what if this mysterious guiding strand played a significant role in the way humans function? The author examines here music’s physiological — and seemingly innocuous — impact on our lives.
She relates the secret of sound vibrations, their benefits and repercussions. Definitions, examples, anecdotes, medical demonstrations: using multiple approaches the author describes music’s impact, which few of us could name or define but that informs the behaviour of each living being.
This is an original invitation to discover the distant music that composes existence, as well as its life-long therapeutic benefits.
The book illustrates the virtues of sound as a communication tool that is capable of reducing suffering, enhancing relaxation and of stimulating the life instinct, the ability to share and to express emotions.