If I were in an analytical mood, I'd begin to wonder why it is that in the past few years, I've become very interested in the paranormal, but I suppose the truth is that I've *always* been interested in things that go bump in the night. Those things used to terrify me, but as I've gotten older, I find myself ever more fascinated. Besides watching Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi religiously (Hey, Tango!), I've found myself reading more fiction and non-fiction, hoping to lift that veil that divides the known and unknown. To that end, I picked up Ghosts Among Us by James Van Praagh after my friend Sharon sent it to me. Van Praagh's a pretty well known medium, and is also co-producer of The Ghost Whisperer on CBS (a show I don't currently watch...it's a Jennifer Love Hewitt problem). Anyway, I was hoping for, and received, several stories from Van Praagh of people he's met and helped, and lots of reasons to believe that he's telling the truth when he says he speaks with the dead. Good stuff in general, but Van Praagh lost me when he began describing his version of the after-life--not that I totally disregard his version, but I just wasn't all that interested. And when he got into energy levels and chahkras, my eyes glazed over. My skepticism hit a high note when he named Abraham Lincoln as one of his spirit guides...well, I guess it *could* be true, though it seemed too over-the-top for me.
I will say that after having read copious notes from my friend Susan about her experiences with her psychic friend Alison and the Akashic record, Van Praagh's version of spirit guides and "reincarnation" line up almost exactly. In my book, that lends a lot of credence to Van Praagh's words.
Ghosts Among Us is very readable and it's obvious Van Praagh is a good storyteller. After finishing this one, though, I will say I prefer Allison Du Bois's style of writing and her ability to stick to one topic throughout a book.
My Amazon review is found at http://www.amazon.com/review/R2EG7VH94BYA5G/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm.
~taminator40
