A lucid, engrossing memoir from a psychologist and philosopher dedicated to the afterlife. . . . The supernatural undertones saturating the narrative are dwarfed by an overwhelming sense that this eccentric visionary just might be on to something . . . the fascinating life story of an impassioned mystical maverick.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[In Paranormal] Moody… looks back, reflecting on his fascination with death, the effect of his life’s work, and trying to figure out what it’s all meant. One key revelation: … the psychologist and philosopher…says he has ‘woken up to God.’” — Religious News Service
“Raymond Moody radically changed the way modern humans think about the afterlife. In Paranormal, he sums up his journey and shares fresh insights. The result is a thrilling and inspiring literary experience. Anyone who is not grateful for Moody’s immense contribution to human welfare ought to check his pulse.” — Larry Dossey, MD, Author of Healing Words and The Power of Premonitions
“Paranormal is the fascinating and heart-warming story of Dr. Raymond Moody’s extraordinary life, chronicling the exciting journey that has given us some of the strongest evidence that life after death is a reality. I highly recommend it.” — Jeffrey Long, M.D., author of Evidence of the Afterlife
“Raymond’s Moody lifetime pioneering activities have been the major impulse for all later research that has been attributed to breaking the scientific and social taboo about near-death experiences, shared death experiences, and the possibility of contact with deceased relatives.” — Pim van Lommel, author of Consciousness Beyond Life
“The personal story of Raymond’s life before and during his pioneering research into what happens at the point of death—once again expertly written by Paul Perry—will help every reader better understand their own search for the same answers.” — Dannion Brinkley, author of Secrets of the Light
“Best known as the man who coined the phrase ‘near-death experience’ . . . Moody is candid and upfront about his life working with near-death experiences, past-life regression, and mirror gazing . . . an interesting addition to any library.” — Library Journal
[In Paranormal] Moody… looks back, reflecting on his fascination with death, the effect of his life’s work, and trying to figure out what it’s all meant. One key revelation: … the psychologist and philosopher…says he has ‘woken up to God.’
Raymond’s Moody lifetime pioneering activities have been the major impulse for all later research that has been attributed to breaking the scientific and social taboo about near-death experiences, shared death experiences, and the possibility of contact with deceased relatives.
Paranormal is the fascinating and heart-warming story of Dr. Raymond Moody’s extraordinary life, chronicling the exciting journey that has given us some of the strongest evidence that life after death is a reality. I highly recommend it.
The personal story of Raymond’s life before and during his pioneering research into what happens at the point of death—once again expertly written by Paul Perry—will help every reader better understand their own search for the same answers.
Raymond Moody radically changed the way modern humans think about the afterlife. In Paranormal, he sums up his journey and shares fresh insights. The result is a thrilling and inspiring literary experience. Anyone who is not grateful for Moody’s immense contribution to human welfare ought to check his pulse.
Moody (Life After Life) is best known as the man who coined the phrase "near-death experience." But what is less known is the psychologist and physician's own life story, including his suicide attempt in 1991. Moody reflects on and documents his varied life, including his bouts with myxedema, which occurs when the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone and, if not treated, can lead to slowness of speech, depression, and decreased senses of taste and smell. He is quite candid and upfront about his life working with near-death experiences, past-life regression, and mirror gazing, and especially about discovering the disease that was not diagnosed correctly until after his suicide attempt. Many stories in this book relate to patients and their past-life regressions, the author's comments and opinions on these regressions, and patients' near-death experiences. Moody also confronts critics who claim that his research and methods are inconclusive and/or irrelevant given his own instability and psychological background. VERDICT While not a book for the reference shelf, this title would be an interesting addition to any library's New Age, religion, and/or psychology section.—Bradford Lee Eden, Valparaiso Univ. Lib., IN
A lucid, engrossing memoir from a psychologist and philosopher dedicated to the afterlife. If Moody's (The Last Laugh, 1999, etc.) career capstone arrived with the lionizing 1975 publication of his landmark report Life after Life, his memoir, co-authored by Perry (co-author: Evidence of the Afterlife, 2010, etc.), an acclaimed author on the subject, affords his life's work even more dramatic heft. Moody's passion for the spiritual world can be traced to an early childhood in World War II–era Georgia raised by an abusively crass father and a depressed mother. He recalls at age 4 establishing theories about death and concepts of postmortem "soul survival." Moody writes ardently of an interest in astronomy throughout adolescence, undeterred by a skeptical father and crippling myxedema, a thyroid deficiency. As a philosophy scholar, he became "hooked on death" and intensely explored spiritual phenomena, out-of-body sensations, near-death events and theories of mind-body coexistence. Plumbing an interest in "facilitated visions" via hypnotic past-life regression therapy, Moody details his nine former lives, including that of a threadbare wooly mammoth hunter, a drowning boat builder and a murdered female Chinese artist. He coined the term "near-death experience" as his first book soared in popularity; on the lecture circuit, he befriended fellow afterlife pioneer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Then his illness resurfaced, causing a suicide attempt and a stint at a psychiatric facility after his experimentations with spirit communication and crystallomancy were discovered by his closed-minded father. Now in his mid-60s, Moody continues his revolutionary research. The supernatural undertones saturating the narrative are dwarfed by an overwhelming sense that this eccentric visionary just might be on to something. The fascinating life story of an impassioned mystical maverick.
