John Edward is a well-known psychic medium who apparently talks to the dead.  Myself being a channeler, I have no problems whatsoever with this concept, for channeling is nothing if not receiving words or concepts (and sometimes visions) from entities who are not in the physical plane with us, but who are giving us information from a more, shall we say, enlightened place.

Mediumship is somewhat different than channeling.  A good medium receives names and specific details about a recently deceased or intimately connected person who has been in the client's life.  These details and correct names, or at least initials, serve to validate the source of information as coming from the hereafter.

In the case of John Edward, his authenticity as demonstrated for years on his tv shows and as witnessed by groups of people attending his large conferences, is shown to be pretty solid.  Carl and I were lucky enough to get tickets to attend one of these conferences before we moved to Delaware, and we were suitably impressed by his skill and audience validation via the few chosen participants.  So this review of his two books is not meant to pass judgment on whether or not he is a true medium or a good one; instead, the point is to evaluate what he is presenting as his soul purpose, his interior value system, and if he is accomplishing his goals as per his spiritual assignment.

From what I'm reading, I'm happy with his message - written in earthy language, with clear details of contemporary American families, culture and lifestyle.  There is no doubt about Edward's sincerity and heart.  Above all, he endeavors to present his work as service - to verify the continued existence of consciousness, personality, and memory in that vast unknown territory called death... and sometimes referred to as life-after-death.  He's not in it for ego, fame or fortune, and he has made every effort to avoid even the perception of exploitation of his gift throughout his career, in his books, and radio and tv shows, for that would spoil the point of it all.  Edward was able to see auras as a young child, and like all gifted psychic adolescents had somewhat of a hard time growing up in regular society but was fortunate to be part of a large Italian family that provided him with normalcy, roots and emotional stability.

In "One Last Time", he offers case histories of his clients and colleagues, including the formidable presence of a three-year-old boy who drowns at a family party and who makes it clear that he is now tasked with helping the children who died in the Oklahoma bombing to cross over.  In another case, he presents the convoluted methods that the deceased engage in, in order to reach the living with important messages.

Most of Edward's work is to comfort the living and diminish guilt and unresolved emotional issues.  To provide closure, in other words.  In "Crossing Over", he gives us the blow-by-blow history of his background from early years at psychic fairs to a syndicated television show - all the signs and omens that brought him to it, all the frustrations that held him back, and even the profound interruption of 9/11, and what that meant to a medium whose sole purpose here is to communicate with the dead.  He didn't want to make those victims' deaths more important or tragic than anyone else's regular losses.

John refers to his spiritual guides humorously as "the Boys".  And the Boys have their own agenda which he has come to align himself with the need to surrender into.  Although at times his descriptions of some of his personal relationships and some of his salty language show a real person who is certainly not Buddha-like, here we have a shining example of someone with pure values who's using his gift not only to help people daily to give love and appreciation to those who are still on this side, but also to represent a message to the world that it's not over when it's over.  He makes a point that we become more sensitive to spiritual energies always surrounding us once we've lost a loved one and are grieving.  He's saying, if we ourselves are able to receive a presence or visitation, we should acknowledge it, thank it for showing it to us, ask its name, don't force anything, and just be receptive to whatever message the presence is sending us.

"In these modern often cynical times, it is important that we are all spiritual beings, and as such we cannot die.  We can only live and learn forever."

Both books are easy to read, in simple language, and are entertaining and fascinating as well.  They're a good read.  High recommendation.