The author reflects on their lifelong struggle with insomnia, tracing its roots back to childhood experiences of seeking solitude amidst noise. As a child, the author found liberation in wakefulness, but over time, external sounds and internal thoughts became barriers to sleep. The impact of noise on sleep is underscored through personal anecdotes and references to artist Louise Bourgeois, whose insomnia inspired chaotic drawings representing the torment of sleeplessness. The narrative explores the complex interplay between early sleep habits and their lasting effects into adulthood.
"Any sound was noise: the burr of the TV from next door, the ticking of a clock in another room. When one layer of sound reduced its volume, another rose from beneath it, each intrusive and underscored by my own unending thoughts."
"The artist Louise Bourgeois suffered a bad bout of insomnia in the 1990s, during which she created a series of drawings. Among them is an image that features musical notes in red ink, zigzagging across a sheet of paper."
Collection
[
|
...
]