Eddie Ayres

Sonam lives with her mom and brothers in a small house in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her mom and older brother work to support the family. When Sonam turned seven, her brother told her she was no longer a child and needed to cover her head and work. But Sonam is only a child. So she continued to live her playful, carefree life. Then, one day, she heard a sound and followed it and met an old man. The old man introduced her to music and an instrument to play. Sonam learned music from the old man until her brother found it one day. He hid the instrument as music is forbidden in the region. After that, Sonam became unhappy and withdrawn. What happened to Sonam? Did she meet the old man again? Did she play again?

We picked this book for its beautiful cover. Though set in a war zone, the story beautifully portrays a little girl’s hope and finding solace in music. The illustrations are as poetic as the story itself.

Sonam and the Silence by Eddie Ayres is an elegantly illustrated book narrating a story of hope and faith.… (mehr)

An interesting story an interesting person and when I think about it, an amazing life. Eddie has lived with more emotion than most people would expect to have to deal with in their lives. Gender complexities, depression, doubt in his self worth and extremely dangerous conditions while living in Afghanistan, teaching at a music school for a year. His love for music and the underprivileged kids he taught at this school are two things that helped him survive the intensity of that year, another thing was luck! Thank you Eddie Ayers for telling your story, it can't have been easy and I'm sure you have left a lasting influence behind in Kabul.… (mehr)

From the former ABC Classic FM broadcaster comes a remarkable story about the power of music and courage to be one's self

Eddie Ayres has a lifetime of musical experience - from learning the viola as a child in England and playing with the Hong Kong Philharmonic for many years, to learning the cello in his thirties and landing in Australia to present an extremely successful ABC Classic FM morning radio show. But all of this time Eddie was Emma Ayres.

In 2014 Emma was spiralling into a deep depression, driven by anguish about her gender. She quit the radio, travelled, and decided on a surprising path to salvation - teaching music in a war zone. Emma applied for a position at Dr Sarmast's renowned Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul, teaching cello to orphans and street kids.

In Danger Music, Eddie takes us through the bombs and chaos of Kabul, into the lives of the Afghan children who are transported by Bach, Abba, Beethoven and their own exhilarating Afghan music. Alongside these epic experiences, Emma determines to take the final steps to secure her own peace; she becomes the man always there inside - Eddie.… (mehr)