Life on the Other Side

If you've ever wanted a user's manual to the other side, here it is. World-famous psychic, master hypnotist, and researcher Sylvia Browne raspily delivers the skinny on "Home," or the afterlife, as gleaned from her spirit guide, Francine, and the hypnosis-derived memories of hundreds of her clients. Vocally, Browne is a warts-and-all reader. She has a thick Missouri accent with a three-pack-a-day edge, and she unapologetically shares her information as simply, directly, and comfortingly as possible. That her avowed purpose is to teach and assist is hard to miss, and while some may scoff at her depiction of the afterlife, it's hard not to come away from this with some new and valuable ideas. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

July 31, 2000
Browne has been spreading her popular and uplifting psychic messages in private practice and on daytime talk shows for decades; her 1999 book, The Other Side and Back, hit number one on the PW bestseller list. Now she's back with a plainspoken, good-humored guide to the invisible world--which some people call the "afterlife" and others call "heaven"--that, she argues, is just "the other side" of our world. Browne takes readers on a detailed tour (with illustrations!) of this paradise, where there are buildings (concert halls, athletic stadiums, libraries and schools--but no shopping malls); where psychological help is available for those who need help making the transition; and where "we don't need to eat," but we can do so for sheer pleasure (and we don't need bathrooms afterward). Drawing on her years of experience as a psychic hypnotist and healer, Browne suggests that the other side is a kind of rest stop for our souls, where we go in between our multiple sojourns in this dimension. The folks over there, she argues, can talk to us, help us cure AIDS and guide us as we try to heal the pain in our lives. Browne anticipates reader skepticism with a kind of tough-edged patience--she's been there and seems to genuinely want to help readers get past their crippling disbelief so they can understand the cycles of life. And she's armed with examples to show she's not making any of this up--she tells of skeptics who, when hypnotized, began speaking ancient, dead languages they couldn't possible have learned in this lifetime and of audiotape recordings of voices from the other side. Although the book isn't likely to make believers out of scoffers, it is a well-written and entertaining cultural bellwether. BOMC, QPB, One Spirit, Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club selections.

April 15, 2006
Browne, one of the best-known and most popular psychics of our time, addresses questions that have aroused the curious for centuries. Most people would like to know if there is an afterlife, what happens there, and if we can see our loved ones on the -other side. - Browne, who has had experiences both personal and professional as a psychic, hypnotist, and researcher, believes all of humanity is connected by -a powerful bond, a living life force - and that -religion, spirituality, and the paranormal are all consistent with the elements of God's creation. - Drawing on her almost 50 years of psychic experience, the author uses her research as a basis to explain the unseen. Believing humans have both a worldly and otherworldly home, Browne offers a guide for better living. Her books and TV appearances are discussed with great enthusiasm by her passionate followers. Recommended for libraries with large audio and best sellers collections." - Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence"

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