by Meredith Wende

Music as Medicine is the autobiography of music therapist Deforia Lane. Through anecdotal storytelling, Lane traces her life from a child growing up in a musical family, to her experiences using music with hospitalized children, to her own battle with cancer.

In her career as a music therapist, Lane visits patients hospitalized with anything from cancer to third degree burns. Only armed with her voice and an easy-to-play instrument called an Omnichord, she caters her therapy to the individual needs of each patient. While physical pain and emotional scarring have left some patients paralyzed and unwilling to speak, many actually begin to play the Omnichord or even vocally interact during their first session with Lane. In addition, she helps other patients express themselves and gain a semblance of control through song composition.

Lane wisely chooses to illustrate a wide array of her therapeutic experiences, not just the ones that end happily. Sometimes she witnesses people coming out of comas or speaking for the first time in months at the sound of a favorite song; other times her music can do little more than provide patients a few moments of peace before they die. In one story she tells of Brad, a cancer patient who has been unresponsive for five months when Lane meets him. She hands her Omnichord to his son and tells the boy to play Brad's favorite song. Before the song ends, Brad has lifted his head and soon begins to play the instrument himself. Although he never fully recovers, Brad becomes responsive enough to say goodbye to his wife and children before he dies.

Therapists first began using music therapy in U. S. hospitals after WWI and WWII when they noticed patients' favorable emotional and physical responses to volunteer musicians. Research suggests that such therapy works with brain damaged patients in particular because music centers exist in both hemispheres of the brain. Language, by contrast, is usually concentrated in the left hemisphere. In fact, some research has even suggested that music can begin to reintegrate damaged parts of the brain. Although a scientific foundation is evident in Lane's book, she concentrates more on the emotional responses of her patients, their families and their doctors. In addition, because she is a practicing Christian, Lane frequently offers a spiritual lesson with each story she tells.

Parts of Music as Medicine are so convincing that I have switched my car radio station from alternative to classical. However, because the book was written by a music therapist rather than a writer, Lane's unnecessary rambling can be a bit hard to wade through. While some sections draw us into Lane's world, others send us searching for the next interesting story.

Music as Medicine gives an informative view of the variety of patients and problems therapists have to deal with, while describing both the rewards and disappointments in detail. It has many emotionally moving stories and is an interesting read for anyone curious about the field of music therapy.

Deforia Lane's Music as Medicine (Zondervan Publishing House, 1994) is available at the Austin Public Library and various bookstores.