Thursday, February 26, 2009

She Sees Ghosts

Melissa Van Rossum dreamed of having a normal life. Problem? Melissa Van Rossum could see ghosts. She didn't have to visit the local haunted house to encounter these spectral beings - they would find her. In her car, her closet, her shower - everywhere.

Melissa didn’t know why ghosts were haunting her until she discovered she had the ability to actually help these spirits who had lost their way, and guide them to the Other Side. And, sometimes, they'd tell her their stories.

Meet the ghostly woman who was distressed at never knowing her children; find out why hundreds of ghosts haunt a Hollywood sound stage; discover what still fascinated a phantom businesswoman; and feel for the teenager who desperately wanted to come back to life.

These ghosts run the gamut from a creepy clown to a criminal predator to a sweet little girl who stayed behind to comfort her mother.

Melissa Van Rossum has encountered them all, and for the first time, tells their stories. These are spooky tales like no other as a true ghost guide gives insight to the lives of the ghosts she’s known and how she helped them find Their Way Home.

Title: Their Way Home: My Adventures as a Ghost Guide
Author: Melissa Van Rossum
Start & Finished: 11/8/08
Published: 2008
Publisher: MetaPublishing
Pages: 136
Genre: Non-fiction

Psychic Melissa Van Rossum had always seen ghosts but once she embraced her gift instead of suppressing it, she was able to help ghost’s who no longer wanted to stay on the earth plane go home into the Light. In her most recent book Their Way Home, Ms. Rossum talks about how she became a “ghost guide”, why she continues to do it, and what she has learned from her “unpaying clients”.

There are many things that I’m on the fence about when it comes to believing. There isn’t anything I outright refuse to believe in but psychics are way up there on my list of things I’m skeptical about. Not quite sure why I wanted to read Melissa’s adventures as a ghost guide, save to say that ghosts and ghost stories have always fascinated me, despite the fact that I have never actually had a real encounter to my knowledge (other than creepy feelings but those can be explained- in other words, nothing has ever “contacted” me that I‘m aware of). Not quite sure what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t this! Not that Their Way Home was a bad book, it’s just that I don’t usually read this type of non-fiction but I was still impressed with Ms. Rossum’s story.

She’s helped ghosts move on that she didn’t like, children, and even little babies and while I’m still skeptical about her account of what happens when a person dies, to a small extent it’s kind of what I had already envisioned happening. Well… the idea of ghost’s being everywhere is a little outside my comfort zone, not to mention the fact that they can become stuck here until someone helps them leave (don’t worry, Ms. Rossum includes on how to do that at the end).

The thing I enjoyed most about the book was unsurprisingly, the ghost’s and their stories. There was a clown (which would have scared me to pieces thanks to my watching Stephen King’s IT when I was a kid), ghost brides, teenagers who had committed suicide or died in a car accident, as well as several others but it wasn’t like the actual ghost stories that I love, they were just short little anecdotes. Mainly, they seemed to be just examples of the types of ghosts that she helps or that she has learned from through helping them. Even though I know I would have loved this book if it had been a fictional story, I thought it was an interesting read nonetheless so thank you Breeni Books for sending it to me.

Links: Author Blog
Interview: Socrates Book Reviews Q&A and Blog Talk Radio

Book Trailer:


Authentic Self Interview:

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful book! I'm going to add it to my to get list :)

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  2. Great review. My grandmother always told my mother that if there was a way to contact her after death she would. She hasn't as far as my mother knows. Even though I'm a skeptic of such things, I've told my mother that she might not be receptive to receiving the message. This book sounds interesting.

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  3. Makes great fiction...but real life? Total skeptic here.

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  4. I think that this would be an interesting read although I too would have a hard time believing. Interesting review!

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  5. Wendy: Well I wouldn't go so far as wonderful but it was pretty good!

    Lenore: Yep, Tim Curry made a pretty freaky clown and totally changed the way I felt about the things (my mom actually collected clowns when I was a kid too *shiver*)

    Bermudaonion: I honestly think that if anyone or thing contacted me I would be terrified!

    SciFiGuy: Well... not total skeptic but I'm just not ready to dismiss the possibility either.

    Samantha: Thanks!

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  6. LOL! Breeni Books is where I saw this first too. ;) I eat this stuff up. Love it big time.

    I don't know if this means anything, but I played the fortune telling gypsy at Halloween when I was younger. Wanted to be one in real life. Have you ever been to a psychic reading before?

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