THE ATHEIST AND THE AFTERLIFE - AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

The memoir of a former atheist who became a medium.

“Most people who start out the way I did might end up in jail or dead,” writes Catania at the start of his book, and he proceeds to tell his story, from growing up in a violently argumentative household to being a Yankees fan to his current status of “Super Dad,” devoting himself to his children. His relationship with his wife, Jessica, is central to his entire adult life. And in his early years, he describes himself as having been an atheist, or at least an agnostic, on spiritual matters. The turning point came when he was in his late 20s. He began seeing mysterious black lines in his peripheral vision, and he became convinced that these lines were “the energy of people no longer on this Earth.” There followed a spiritual journey involving mental powers and psychic guides, and Catania narrates it all with affable humor and a great deal of energy. A problem, however, with his book comes not from its enthusiasm or readability but from its persistent internal contradictions. If Catania had left all of his experiences on the level of the personal and subjective, he would have presented his readers with no stumbling blocks. But instead, he continually offers variations of “I don’t believe in anything until I can justify it through science.” And yet, he writes about spirit channeling, prescience, and energy healing—the efficacy of which is not supported by any data. On just one page of his book he states that when humans die, their consciousness is stored in the “dark energy” of the universe, the dead in “the fourth realm” regularly reach out to him, and karma exists even after death. At one point Catania asks about his experiences, “How do I know it is real?” But he refuses to acknowledge the answer: It’s real if it can be demonstrated and replicated by strangers.

A passionate but questionable tale of mystical experiences.