After Life: Answers From The Other Side by John Edward

Synopsis:
In John Edward's fourth book he answers some of the most asked questions about how the psychic mediumship process works. In addition he shares his experiences while doing readings in Australia and his life as the son of an Irish father and an Italian mother. He also touches on his life as a husband and being a first time father. He shares his journey learning how to be a medium and lessons he learned from his friends and teachers here and from people who have passed on.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed learning about John and his family background. From problems he had connecting with his father (while his father was still alive) to becoming a first time father. He had some really great advice for those who experience grief from the loss of a loved one, mainly to not seek out a psychic to connect until you have accepted and embraced the grief process. It's something you just can't skip or ignore. Moving right to seeking out a medium soon after the death of a loved one usually brings heartache because they either find a crook instead of someone with an actual psychic gift of their loved ones don't come through as the expect. I don't think I expected him to encourage someone to not go to a psychic.

John included many transcripts of his readings throughout the book. I've watched his Crossing Over show on many occasions and enjoyed his readings. I don't know if I fully believe it but the readings that are included are pretty amazing.

What I didn't like is that the book felt almost as if I were reading a text book. I grew bored after reading only a few pages so it took me forever to read it. I also didn't like his explanation on how he does what he does. It was something along the lines of he raises his psychic vibrations higher and the people who cross over lower theirs so they can communicate on the same level. I just didn't follow it. Maybe you have to be a psychic to really get it.

Overall an average book with some good stuff and some stuff I just didn't care for. I am not sure if I will go out of my way to read another book by him unless it if filled with his transcripts of his readings because that is that part I enjoyed the most.

Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

(I know. I know. Not my typical book.)

Synopsis:  
Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths about change. It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a "Maze" and look for "Cheese" to nourish them and make them happy. — Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry. And two are "little people" -- beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw.

"Cheese" is a metaphor for what you want to have in life -- whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, health, or spiritual peace of mind.

And "The Maze" is where you look for what you want -- the organization you work in, or the family or community you live in.

In the story, the characters are faced with unexpected change. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully, and writes what he has learned from his experience on the maze walls.

When you come to see "The Handwriting on the Wall," you can discover for yourself how to deal with change, so that you can enjoy less stress and more success (however you define it) in your work and in your life.

Written for all ages, the story takes less than an hour to listen to, but its unique insights can last for a lifetime.


My thoughts: 
Overall a good book that will teach a valuable lesson on identifying the clues that pop up to alert you of change coming and learning to deal with that change. The first part of the book is about a group of friends visiting each other during a reunion. It was during this party that one of the guests told the Cheese story. The second part of the story is the actual Cheese story. The third part is the original friends discussing what they had learned about the story and themselves after hearing it.

I thought the first part was not bad leading up to the main story. I like books that have a sub-story involved. I loved the Cheese story. I'm not a stranger to it. I have belong to several large corporations who utilized this story during training. Most even have a little film to watch. The last part of the book is what I really disliked.

The discussion part felt like a horribly scripted infomercial. I felt like I should have been back in a classroom doodling instead of paying attention. Although mildly interesting, I really couldn't care less about the fictional reunion members and the parallels they drew between each character of the Cheese story and themselves. I think this book would have benefited from having more of a independent study guide in the last part. One that had open ended questions asking the reader things like "Which character did you find you related to more and why?" The book did mention in the forward that many people skip the last section to draw their own conclusions.
If it weren't for that last section I may have given this book a higher rating. I believe that a nonfiction book can be informative. You can learn things without feeling lectured to.