May 19, 2011
Maureen Hancock
Is there really such a thing as ghosts? Is it possible the living can actually communicate with them?
I don’t know if it’s due to nature of my own book, (coming soon) that I’m more attuned to this sort of thing or what, but there seems to be a change in the world’s consciousness lately. People are becoming more open-minded when it comes to the subjects of supernatural phenomena, spirits and spirit mediums—those who communicate with the dead.
Maureen Hancock’s new book, The Medium Next Door: Adventures of a Real-Life Ghost Whisperer, is about this very subject. Her book is a cross between self-help, grief counseling and memoir. Hancock relates the story of how she was drawn to this unusual profession and shares her adventures along the way, culminating with her rise to nationwide popularity due to her warm, caring personality and her uncanny ability to interact with the deceased. She is currently in the process of filming her own reality TV show for Disney, premier date to be announced.
As a toddler, Maureen nearly died due to lead poisoning from ingesting lead-based paint from a windowsill in her house. To this day, she believes that her near-death experience was the means that opened her spirit to receive messages from beyond, because around the age of 5, she began to see “ghosts.”
Through the years, her psychic abilities grew until she could no longer deny the gift she’d been given. Maureen now uses that gift to help others. This is the most touching part of her story. The author doesn’t ask you to believe her, she seems only to want to educate others that death is not the end and that love never dies. Along with her charity, Seeds of Hope, her mission is to help others triumph over the loss of their loved ones and to live life to its fullest—and not necessarily because that’s what their loved ones would want, but because that truly is the reason for our lives—to experience as much joy as possible and to share it with others. She also works with and has earned the trust of many law enforcement agencies.
The Medium Next Door has a universal appeal because if we haven’t already, eventually we will all lose someone we love. My favorite chapter was “Tales from the Trenches,” where Hancock recounts episodes that made me laugh; a great virtue, I think, when it comes to the serious nature of her work.
The only criticism I have is that I would have preferred the author followed the book with a workbook instead of inserting lessons at the end of the chapters. While I enjoyed both her experiences and her wisdom, I thought the lessons distanced me somewhat from the story flow. And I would have liked to have read in more detail about how one can develop intuitiveness for one’s self. Maybe that will be Hancock’s next book. I hope so.
Other than that, a great read from what appears to be a woman of boundless energy, sunshine and joy. Her stories are entertaining, funny and inspiring and she has made a believer out of me. The Medium Next Door is sure to touch your heart as well.
For more information, please visit www.maureenhancock.com, or to purchase her book, click on the cover below.
