Crossing Over reads like a casual conversation with an old childhood pal instead of like a memoir of a world-renowned psychic who has his own talk show on the Sci Fi channel. John Edward's narrative is down-to-earth and filled with vernacular expressions (including plenty of instances of "holy shit!"). There's the story of how his deceased mother finally gave him the three signs he hoped for after she died, and how he once contacted the recently departed songwriter Carl Perkins. Most of the time, Edward speaks about how the process of consulting with a psychic brings peace and reconciliation to those left behind--standard fare for medium memoirs. As compelling as Edward's stories are, what makes this memoir unique is how readily Edward exposes his own vanities and ego bruisings. He also delves into the behind-the-scenes reality of being a television medium. For instance, he reveals how his producers wanted to have dead-people "theme shows"--for instance inviting grieving members of Mother Against Drunk Driving to be the audience. This kind of "gallery rigging" goes against Edward's desire to enter readings without any prior knowledge of the person seated before him. Edward offers an amusing, and at times disturbing, look at how the ethereal world clashes with the celebrity world. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
In Crossing Over—the book—John brings his readers with him on the extraordinary journey that has been his life since his New York Times bestseller One Last Time was published in 1998. In the style of his TV show and personal appearances—poignant, funny, and remarkably candid—John deals head-on with the controversial issues he has confronted on his voyage as a psychic medium. Readers might be surprised to learn that it hasn't always been smooth sailing. On the way to becoming an internationally celebrated medium, John has had to learn his own lessons about the meaning of his work and about the motivations of some of the people he has met on his path. The book also tells the powerful stories of the people John has encountered and the spirits that have accompanied them: The songwriter from Tennessee whose famous father comes through, setting off an extraordinary chain of events leading to an amazing discovery in a memorabilia store in Dallas. The science teacher who leaves her dying grandfather in a nursing home to come to a group reading with John—and finds her grandfather coming through half an hour later, saying he wanted her to leave his bedside so she could report back to the family that he had crossed over safely. The young woman working on a project with John whose murdered boyfriend interrupts a taping session to tell her that it's all right for her to move on. And John's own quest to hear from another medium the words he's waited a decade for: the signs he and his mother agreed she would give him from the Other Side to tell him she was okay. Through these stories and many others, John brings peace and insight to those who grieve for their loved ones.
Readers of this book will be captivated by the wit, warmth, and passion that John brings to his work, and by the stories behind the stories that have riveted millions of viewers of his landmark program.
*Tradepaper edition will include an added chapter on September 11th.
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