Sometimes, one longs more than anything to escape the demands of everyday life for a while, to leave behind the hustle and stress, and to reconnect with oneself. In such moments, the best thing to do is to grab a book and start reading – a book like this one, whose stories and poems tell of the great experience of silence, the happiness that lies in tranquility, and the beautiful little breaks that enrich and strengthen us upon our return. How to find peace, treat oneself with mindfulness, and do something good for oneself – this is what Peter Bichsel, Lily Brett, Italo Calvino, Teju Cole, Umberto Eco, Max Frisch, Axel Hacke, Hermann Hesse, Tom Hodgkinson, Amos Oz, Erling Kagge, Cees Nooteboom, Rainer Maria Rilke, Wilhelm Schmid, Wislawa Szymborska, and many others convey. "Silence, you are the best of all that I have ever heard." Bo.