AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)
The Post [Wellington, New Zealand]
March 29, 2025
By Speer Mayron
Motivational speaker Pauline Grogan’s first book, Beyond the Veil, propelled her into the spotlight as she exposed abuse she suffered while a Catholic nun in a convent. 12 years later, her latest work – Miss adventure: healing with music – traverses Grogan’s experiences of stroke and chronic neuropathic pain that only music could alleviate. Miss adventure: healing with music by Pauline Grogan, is available now. RRP $35.
Where did you go to write, and what did you need around you to put this story down on paper?
For me, the two strokes had brought a passionately lived life to an abrupt halt.
I began to keep a daily diary as a way of coping with isolation and loss of community involvement. Would a book be possible? I fell gratefully into the arms of an experienced editor on my wavelength and navigated an onerous process with ACC to fund voice recognition software. They initially refused because I wasn’t a ‘famous’ author – despite my best-selling memoir published by Penguin, Beyond the Veil. They finally agreed.
Speaking my story into the computer was emotionally tough. It heightened the neuropathic pain I was already experiencing from the haemorrhage on my thalamus. It was only meeting Dr Tipu Aamir at the Greenlane Pain Clinic that saved me from ending my life. His empathetic and direct responses to my questions renewed my courage to find coping tools that worked for me.
Tell us about one or two artists/musicians whose work you returned to help manage your pain over the years?
All of the medications routinely prescribed for neuropathic pain had severe side effects for me, so my personal music playlist became essential to my rehabilitation. The second movement of Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata evokes feelings of loss and vulnerability, which supports my healing process as I’m reminded of the great composers who also lost what was precious to them. Sacred pieces from my past as a nun such as Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus restore a sense of calm.
Did you encounter much resistance to what you say about music and healing?
Resistance came primarily from a profit-driven care industry. Apologetic staff told me it wasn’t in their job description to ‘push play’. This meant the people they were caring for couldn’t listen to music, even if they wanted to (their debilitating conditions meant they were unable to press play for themselves). Even when I succeeded at times in getting a new question added to the admittance form, ‘What music does your loved one enjoy?’ the follow-through was lacking. We older folks also do need the willing help of young people with technology.
Conversely, can you share some experiences of connection with people who resonated with music for healing?
John has dementia. I bought him an Alexa that he can ask to play whatever song he wants. The other residents have cottoned on to this modern miracle and wanted to know more about it. Joanna’s grandmother had once been a magnificent opera singer but she had gone silent and passive in the rest home. Hearing The Hills are Alive one day, she began to sing again in a beautiful clear voice. From that day, she regained her spark for life.