Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous by Sylvia Browns


Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Get an All-Access Pass to the Other Side

For decades—on television, in consultations, and in packed auditoriums across the country— renowned psychic Sylvia Browne has been asked one question again and again: “What is my favorite celebrity doing on the Other Side?” Now, for the first time, you can follow the red carpet into the heart of the spirit world. Browne reveals intimate details of how some of our most cherished actors, musicians, and public figures have fared since their deaths, giving us one more glimpse into the personalities we loved and lost. Both moving and rollicking, this is one book that’s truly impossible to put down!

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous features intimate afterlife accounts of Princess Diana, John Lennon, Heath Ledger, Marilyn Monroe, and other charismatic celebrities. By channeling her longtime spirit guide, Francine, Browne gained unrestricted access to a dimension most of us can only imagine, one in which telepathic communication is the norm and everyone occupies their healthy, thirty-year-old beautiful body. In candid reports, these stars reveal fascinating details about their new lives and the work they’re doing on the Other Side, many even sharing whether and where they intend to reincarnate.

With accounts written entirely in a trance state, Afterlives of the Rich and Famous offers an unprecedented look at life on the Other Side. You’ll find detailed descriptions as Browne brings the spirit world vividly to life and explains how we get there, from what transpires at the moment of death to the extraordinary welcome spirits receive. Afterlives of the Rich and Famous is a book that no one else could have written and a must-read for every fan of this extraordinary assembly of celebrities.

I'm not sure how much of Sylvia Browne's vision of the Afterlife is one that I personally belief in.  Probably not much of it at all, but what I appreciate is that she believes it.  This isn't a woman who is making stuff up to give false hope and  make a ton of money.  This is only the second book of hers that I've read, but the fact that she truly believes in what she writes is evident and welcomed.

This book, like the last one I read, is easy to read and she doesn't come across as thinking that she is better than us for not knowing this stuff to begin with.  The book itself is broken up into four sections that allowed me to quickly get a grasp on the material.  The Introduction, is simply that.  It gives a quick glimpse into her background and what the book is going to be about, the current happenings in the lives of celebrities that have passed away.  The second section is titled, "Death...and Then What?"  It simply gives a quick introduction to the Afterlife and what happens as someone departs from this world and goes back home.  The third section is the glossary and it came in handy a few times.  While nothing is too terribly technical, it's helpful to have a reference point for certain terms and ideas that the author talks about as she relates the afterlives of the celebrities.  The fourth section is the good stuff.  In it Sylvia recounts what some of the most cherished celebrities are now doing with their lives.

What I loved about this section is how she broke it up.  The first part of each celebrities bio starts off with who they were and what they accomplished on Earth.  After that, Sylvia lets us know what they are up to now.  She does this by going into a trance and channeling her spirit guide, Francine.  Francine then shares what information she has about the given subject.  If found the recap of their Earthly life to be helpful as it reminded me of some of the great movies and accomplishments they achieved before they passed.  It also recounts, briefly, their personal life and manner of death.

The second though gives the reader what they picked this book up for to begin with.  Sylvia lets us know that who met them on the other side (it was nice to know that animals are always the first ones to greet them), what their mindset was when they arrived, and what they have been doing since.  She reveals that Anna Nicole Smith has begun, once again, to study Buddhism and is training to teach meditation.  She has also reunited with her son and couldn't be more content.  Francine let Sylvia know that John Ritter along with Lucille Ball are taking studying cardiovascular genetic disorders in order to someday prevent them.  Natalie Wood, Dean Martin, Eva Gabor, and Gregory Peck are a few of the other celebrities that Sylvia allows us to know about.

Whether or not I believe in the vision that Sylvia Browne puts forth in this book doesn't really matter.  What matters, at least to me, is that she gives us something to believe in.  She gives us an account of the afterlife that is both reassuring and in a few cases dark at times.  Not everyone passes from this world into a perfect afterlife, Bela Lugosi being one of those.  No matter what though, Sylvia gives us a recounting of those afterlives as she sees them.  It's an unflinching and at times personal glimpse into the lives of those that we cherished while they were here with us and still miss since they have left.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  You can read more thoughts on it by visiting the tour page.

2 comments:

bermudaonion said...

I have to admit that I'm a skeptic when it comes to things like this, but my mom can't get enough of it. I'll have to tell her about this book.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for giving this book a chance even though you don't necessarily subscribe to Ms. Brown's beliefs. I definitely enjoyed reading your review!