A Reluctant Spirit: A True Tale of God, Ghosts and a Skeptical Christian

Name: A Reluctant Spirit: A True Tale of God, Ghosts and a Skeptical Christian
Author: Kathleen Berry
ISBN: 978-0989872201

by Kathleen Berry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 2013

A born-again believer makes a diverting adventure story out of embracing her sensitivity to benevolent spirits.

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Berry’s intriguing debut memoir suggests that belief in the paranormal, including ghosts and psychic experiences, can be reconciled with orthodox Christianity.

Goldfield Hotel, Nevada: a haunted site if ever there was one. Berry can’t quite believe she has agreed to come here, through her public relations role, to serve as an impartial observer for a TV station's paranormal investigation. “A good Christian woman…wouldn’t have put herself here to dabble in the occult,” she chides herself. Yet Berry had long been receptive to supernatural experiences—whether church-sanctioned or not. Her strong Christian faith sustained her through 18 years suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome, the result of a virus contracted on an African safari. There had been many signs of her paranormal sensitivity: For instance, she felt the presence of dead relatives and conveyed her grandfather’s message that it was time for her grandmother to join him, and she remembered a “Circus Master” figure haunting their duplex when she was a child. Berry took advantage of working at Truckee Meadows Community College to attend a ghost-hunting conference and train with a psychic, though she worried all along that such experiences were at odds with faith in God. However, friends encouraged her to keep an open mind; perhaps her sensitivity would bring her closer to God. As Berry returns to the Goldfield, where her framing story began, she’s unsure whether her health and faith are strong enough to withstand a full-scale haunting. Over a long night filled with sensing dead residents’ emotions, smelling ghostly odors, capturing footsteps and voices via EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recording, and feeling a hand stroking her hair, Berry’s “fear of ghosts transforms to awe.” Hearing the voice of God, having a telepathic friend affirm her sightings at the hotel, and experiencing a miraculous healing from her CFS all confirm for her that her path is not dangerous and that it has divine approval. Present-tense narration and convincing dialogue make for a gripping account, and Berry successfully balances abstract thought with physical realities; even a scene as simple as peeling potatoes in her home allows for extended contemplation of spiritual happenings. Intriguing as it is, the memoir is so full of subjective experience that it is unlikely to convince doubters.

A born-again believer makes a diverting adventure story out of embracing her sensitivity to benevolent spirits.

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2013

ISBN: 978-0989872201

Page Count: 190

Publisher: Kathleen Berry

Review Posted Online: March 5, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.