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This novel of past lives, love, trauma, slavery, and triumph tells the story of Alan Jackson, who is an African American artist, and those who love him, both family and friends. However, it begins with Anna Taylor, who, in her tenth-grade comparative religion class, learns about reincarnation. In college, she meets Nessa, the granddaughter of Alan, and they become close friends. Anna becomes very close to Alan and his extended family. Alan suffers a heart attack, has an OBE (out-of-body experience) and an NDE (near-death experience), about which he confides in Anna.
During this experience, he was shown a past life as Eli, a teenage slave murdered for talking and giving a drawing to a white man's two daughters, with whom he had a hidden friendship. In the hospital, Alan meets his doctor, who killed him as Eli. Alan begins to tell others his story and develops many friendships along the way, including with the doctor. He continues to create his art and write, with the help of others in researching his history and that of his family, which began with Eli and others. Numerous other stories also develop along the way, which add superbly to the content of the book.
The book weaves through the various stories with grace and tenderness. It deftly examines life-after-death in a way that teaches without being technical, but it also teaches as a way of being of the Universe, of the Divine. It also expertly explores the hardships of slavery and the value of the human spirit, as well as the ability to overcome hardships through family, friendships, and spirituality. The story is about relationships, the "Other Side" of our being, and the synchronicity of life. Schaeffer is a true storyteller, which makes her book well worth reading.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review