For readers of Oliver Sacks and Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.
A celebrated art therapist plays the cello for patients with autism, neurodegenerative disease and terminal illness-and offers a moving reflection on the extraordinary power of music to enrich our lives, all the way to the very end.
When Claire Oppert plays the cello, miracles happen. Children with profound autism, patients in extreme pain and distress, even people on the threshold of death smile, cry, laugh, sing and dance. "When you play, I'm not sick anymore," one man tells her. "I feel happy, I feel alive."
In The Schubert Treatment, Oppert recounts her remarkable story of healing suffering through music, alongside portraits of the many people she has helped. Born into a family of doctors and artists, Oppert trained as a classical cellist and began playing at a center for autistic youth, where she witnessed how music could connect with even the most difficult-to-reach patients. Later, she began working as an art therapist with people with neurodegenerative diseases and palliative care patients, eventually conducting clinical trials that proved the effect of her "Schubert treatment": using music as a counter-stimulation to reduce pain and anxiety during stressful procedures.
Oppert's crystalline, lyrical vignettes of the patients whose lives she has touched are punctuated with anecdotes from her own life as a musician, as well as reflections on the meaning of art and the human need for connection and creativity. Compassionate, uplifting, and deeply humane, The Schubert Treatment is a testament to the incredible power of music to heal our bodies, minds, and souls.
A celebrated art therapist plays the cello for patients with autism, neurodegenerative disease and terminal illness-and offers a moving reflection on the extraordinary power of music to enrich our lives, all the way to the very end.
When Claire Oppert plays the cello, miracles happen. Children with profound autism, patients in extreme pain and distress, even people on the threshold of death smile, cry, laugh, sing and dance. "When you play, I'm not sick anymore," one man tells her. "I feel happy, I feel alive."
In The Schubert Treatment, Oppert recounts her remarkable story of healing suffering through music, alongside portraits of the many people she has helped. Born into a family of doctors and artists, Oppert trained as a classical cellist and began playing at a center for autistic youth, where she witnessed how music could connect with even the most difficult-to-reach patients. Later, she began working as an art therapist with people with neurodegenerative diseases and palliative care patients, eventually conducting clinical trials that proved the effect of her "Schubert treatment": using music as a counter-stimulation to reduce pain and anxiety during stressful procedures.
Oppert's crystalline, lyrical vignettes of the patients whose lives she has touched are punctuated with anecdotes from her own life as a musician, as well as reflections on the meaning of art and the human need for connection and creativity. Compassionate, uplifting, and deeply humane, The Schubert Treatment is a testament to the incredible power of music to heal our bodies, minds, and souls.
"The Schubert Treatment is a wonderful book, the story of a fearless communicator, using the power of music - and of her own extraordinary empathy - to almost magical effect. Inspiring, impressive and above all heartwarming."
-Steven Isserlis, world-renowned cellist
"A lyrical and heartbreaking book that beautifully celebrates the power of music to connect people and provide comfort. Oppert's storytelling weaves her own journey into music therapy with compassionate descriptions of the lives she touches through her cello playing. A must-read for anyone who is involved in care of those who are suffering physically or mentally."
-Hannah Wunsch, author of The Autumn Ghost
-Steven Isserlis, world-renowned cellist
"A lyrical and heartbreaking book that beautifully celebrates the power of music to connect people and provide comfort. Oppert's storytelling weaves her own journey into music therapy with compassionate descriptions of the lives she touches through her cello playing. A must-read for anyone who is involved in care of those who are suffering physically or mentally."
-Hannah Wunsch, author of The Autumn Ghost