ABSTRACT
This book describes an extraordinary flight in music therapy with Francis, a musician who lived with and died of AIDS. Through the contemplative qualities of music he found a sense of peace that had eluded him his whole life. The verbal and musical narratives presented describe the re-awakening of his creative musical spirit, which, through earlier circumstances, had been lost. In music he demon - strated great courage, this story being a testament of his musical journey towards death. The structure of the book is formed around his course of therapy, his music and his words transcribed session by session. In the context of the narration, I also describe my involvement in the therapy process: my searchings and reflections, and the professional and personal challenges of this astonishing experience of ‘therapy in music’. The musical excerpts that accompany the text come from recordings of
the actual sessions and are included as audio files. This enables the reader to have the experience of sharing in the creative and expressive dynamics of Francis’s journey. With regard to the transcriptions of his words: apart from determining punctuation, and some slight editing in the interests of clarity, the words are as he spoke them. The immediacy of improvisation through speech, as well as music, is retained.
