The Forgetting Time
by Sharon Guskin
Flatiron Books, 2016.
Dr. Jerome Anderson has devoted much of his life to the study of reincarnation. He’s documented cases around the world, cases in which children speak about former lives whose events have been confirmed.
Now he is diagnosed with progressive aphasia, a type of dementia, while being presented with Noah, a four-year-old who may have suffered a traumatic death in a previous life.
Noah’s mother, Janie, is willing to try anything to help Noah, who suffers from nightmares and keeps wanting his “other mama.”
Anderson: “He’d had his own thoughts lately, though, that ignorance and fear and anger, like trauma, could perhaps be transferred from one life to the next, and that it might take multiple lifetimes to overcome them. And if anger and fear could persist–then also, of course, stronger emotions could as well, such as love. Was that what drew some people back to reincarnate within their own families?” (p. 300)
Guskin’s novel poses many serious questions about the nature of human existence. Do souls reincarnate? Do people remember past lives? The author includes excerpts from real research, specifically a book titled Life Before Life, by Jim B. Tucker. Tucker documents cases in which a child’s past life memories are confirmed.
To the Asian families that Anderson has interviewed, reincarnation is an accepted occurrence. In the U.S., it’s a different story. Noah’s mother, Janie, is skeptical. Others in the novel express the variety of thinking about life after death. Is it ESP? Is it fakery?
Ever since I became familiar with Edgar Cayce’s readings, I’ve been comfortable with the idea of reincarnation. It makes sense to me. It’s like Groundhog Day on Planet Earth. We’re given more chances to do it right.
What do you believe?
It’s a good book. Read it with an open mind.
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and a human have a baby…
Of course, realizing wishes have unexpected results–and can produce a whole story, if you’re a writer like me.
Tangled Magic 