Signals
 Joel Rothschild
 (Reviewer - Carolyn Stearns)
 2001 New World Library
  ISBN: 1577311795

An Inspiring Story of Life After Life with a Foreword by Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversations with God books. Joel Rothschild is an AIDS survivor. In fact, he is the only person in his tightly knit circle of five friends who is still alive. He defies doctors as he continues to live beyond their expectations.

Rothschild, a Jew by birth, was raised as an agnostic. He was skeptical of anyone who claimed to have psychic powers or an ability to commune with spirits. He wasn't certain if an afterlife existed or not.

Signals is about the author's transformational journey from agnostic to believer in the continuation of life after life. His teacher was his beloved friend Albert, who changed Rothschild's life forever with his messages after his suicide.

Before Albert died, he & Rothschild made a pact -- whoever died first would attempt to “signal” the other. At the time, only Albert, who by nature was the more mystical of the two, took the pact seriously. After the death of Albert, however, Rothschild longed for further communication. He wondered if his friend would, indeed, try & signal him.

Albert's first post-death contact with Rothschild was through his voice, indicating where a letter, written before he took his life, could be found.

Rothschild found this letter. It brought him a great deal of comfort.

Then, on another occasion, a shaft of veiled, hazy light appeared in front of Rothschild, & he heard Albert's voice again, describing his life on the Other Side. These were the first of the many signals to come.

Soon Rothschild received messages for other living people from spirits who had died, sometimes strangers & sometimes people he knew. Sometimes the recipients received these messages happily; sometimes not.

Signals is a particularly inspiring story during these times of death & loss in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania & New York City. I recommend this book if you, like I, cry every time you turn on the television & witness the pain in the hearts of so many. Signals will remind you of what you have forgotten.

My main criticism with the book is Rothschild's use of the names of the people who have died & others still living, whose stories he tells. As someone who has successfully practiced this special kind of listening SPIRIT-WALKING , I believe the privacy of the people about whom he writes should be maintained.

I enjoy the way Rothschild essentially collides with spirits. In other words, he doesn't go looking for them, nor does he give readings as a profession. He simply passes on what he receives as it is revealed to him. I sense an integrity to his work & his process.

I encourage anyone who is grieving or approaching death to read this book. Rothschild introduces the concept that life goes on after life in a gentle & unpressured way. His skepticism is definitely a strength of the book. He gives the reader plenty of space to come to his or her own conclusions.

The authors web site is www.joelrothschild.com/.
(10/14/01)

Carolyn Stearns
2001©Carolyn Stearns
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Staff Writer/Reviewer

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Reviewer's Bio:
Carolyn Stearns is a professional modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, masseuse, hypnotist & writer who began her 39 year dance career as a butterfly in first grade. She received an MS in dance from Smith College & studied with modern dance legends Martha Graham, Hanya Holm & Jose Limon.

As Carolyn Coles, she performed with prominent dance companies including Karamu Dancers & the Jose Limon Dance Company in Philadelphia, taught dance at Smith, Swarthmore & Connecticut Colleges & the University of Maryland. For years she was a dance critic for Choice Magazine.

After she retired from dance, she taught her own bodywork program Stretch and Meditation, gave psychic body readings & grief massages -- out of which came her six Blessing Tree Self-Empowerment audio tapes.

Then she began to write, publishing: Spirit-Walking; Where Did All The Water Go?; Queit Please-Eaglets Growing; The Inheritance. Excerpts of her work have appeared in Reality Change, Fodderwing, The Washington Post, Pilgrimage, The New Bay Times, Chesapeake, earthlight! and Choice Magazine.

She live in Mason's Beach, Maryland & at Weslemkoon Lake, Ontario with her husband, Chris, & her special teachers: a Great Pyrenees dog Jean-Luc & cats Black Angus & Calico Phoebe. They share six children & six grandchildren.

A RebeccasReads author in Authors & Books