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MY JOURNEY WITH GEORGE by Melody  Heller

MY JOURNEY WITH GEORGE

A Soul Connection

by Melody Heller

Pub Date: Dec. 6th, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5462-7090-4
Publisher: AuthorHouse

Heller tells of receiving supernatural help from an unlikely, and famous, source in this debut Christian memoir.

On Christmas Day 2016, the author simply could not get into the holiday spirit. The single mother of two had launched a jewelry business that year, and the startup debt was weighing on her. Then she learned from her daughter that the singer George Michael had died. “George was known for helping anyone in need,” she reflected. “I kept thinking, I wish he could have helped me grow my business. I wish I had someone like him to discuss marketing with. I wish I could have gotten his opinion on my jewelry line.” That night, she prayed to God to make Michael one of “my angels.” A few months later, Heller suffered a possible heart attack; at the hospital, she thought that she heard Michael’s song “Careless Whisper” playing somewhere, although her daughter assured her that it was not. Then, despite some troubling potential diagnoses, it turned out there was nothing wrong with Heller’s heart. Over the subsequent months and years, the author writes, she experienced ghostly happenings—boots moving on their own, bowls of creamer refilling themselves, televisions flicking on mysteriously—along with more spectral George Michael songs that only she could hear. She wondered: Could it really be possible that the deceased singer’s spirit was watching over her and her children? The tone of Heller’s prose is chatty and light, but she knows how to get across spooky moments when required: “I…tried to figure out why in the world I had just had a dream about George Michael. There he was, singing ‘Careless Whisper.’ Wait—was I still dreaming? No, I was definitely awake.” Overall, it’s a strange premise for a memoir, and skeptical readers will find it a difficult one to believe despite Heller’s efforts. That said, the supernatural elements are secondary to her story of finding ways to overcome the small (and not-so-small) obstacles that she encountered in her everyday life. As a result, this relatable remembrance will likely leave readers with a warm, Christmas-y feeling.

An odd but ultimately endearing memoir.