What I enjoyed most about this book is the encouragement from the author that everyone can develop and grow their own mediumship skills and create their own relationship with spirit.

This is a subject matter that I enjoy exploring and while this book wasn't anything overly exciting or new, it was further affirmation that there is more for us beyond the veil.

I was quite apprehensive about this book to begin with because of the title and I requested it out of curiosity and I’m really glad that I did because it’s a very interesting piece of non-fiction with a very interesting concept that we don’t often see in books today. This is one of those books that I would recommend to very certain people and would happily re-read again because of the messages embedded within.

Life after death is a topic of interest to many. Claire Broad does a good job of explaining and providing hope for the grieving and inquisitive in search for meaning on the life. Her experience from childhood helps break the barrier of logic. Worth the read.

A good read for anyone wishing to learn about spirit communication. I loved her personal account and her authenticity. A good read,

I really wanted to like this book. I would read some and put it down, read more put it down....you get the picture. This book just was not what I thought it would be. Maybe my expectations were too much. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

I've been intrigued by spirit for a long time....ever since I woke up in the middle of the night and smelled roses. I was in my early 20s and my paternal grandmother's name was Rose. I had read early on that signs can be subtle. That is exactly what this book is teaching us. How to connect with the spirit world through our everyday lives. I've picked up on little signs and it most intrigues me now because my parents are both gone and they've never come to me since their passing. Claire's book talks about how to contact your loved ones in the spirit world through meditation.

The book relays information from the spirit world that makes sense and is not full of big scientific words. I also liked that there were real experiences shared in the book.

I love anything related to psychics and intuitive communication. I loved Claire's fresh take on the messages that we should be listening for. This is a great read for those that are wary of the otherworldly. Claire's approach is genuine and believable.

It's hard to give such a low rating to a woman who comes off as a very friendly, nice lady. That said, there were a couple of reasons I just couldn't give this book a higher rating.

The basic premise of this book is that Broad is a medium who has been able to see and hear from the dead since a very young age. She writes of herself as a very ordinary British woman who first went into a very traditional career before basically being convinced by her "spirit guides" to go into this as a career. She claims to have several spirit guides but the biggest one is a Native American man named White Feather. She claims that White Feather is a 38 year-old Dakota warrior who is covered in feathers. Throughout the book, she frequently says White Feather told her this or that, and even puts questions to White Feather for him to explain to us readers what the afterlife and mediumship are like.

I don't even know what to say about the idea of a British white woman who claims to have a Native American warrior sidekick who spends most of his time in the afterlife helping her connect clients with their dead relatives and imparting wisdom from beyond. Just... oh my goodness, that's playing into so many 20th century bad stereotypes about native people.

Our family lives in southern Minnesota, which is land stolen from the Dakota people. We have volunteered at a Dakota historic holy site for 15 years and have presented homeschool programming there and at the Lower Sioux (Dakota) Historic Site. We live near Mankato, the site of our nation's largest mass execution of 38 Dakota boys and men after the Sioux Uprising, and very close to the site of the uprising. We have friends who are Dakota (incidentally, they have names like Joe). I am incredibly uncomfortable with the way Broad presents her supposed Native American friend from the afterlife.

Here is an example of the many times Broad claims to quote White Feather to answer questions about the afterlife:

"White Feather, what are your thoughts on God?"

"Answer: Any conceptualisation you hold in your mind by its very nature cannot be the true God. The true divine creature of 'all', reaches beyond logical description. The very act of describing the infinite is to reduce the un-reducible. God is the all and the nothing, don't limit the great unlimited with words. If I must use a term, I prefer the Great Spirit or Universal Light of Consciousness because those terms highlight our own reflection of this great power, enabling a personal connection with what otherwise may become abstract.

"In the beginning God said 'Let there be light and there was.' 'Light is the paintbrush and paint of the universe. Awareness, the hand that guides it...'"

This answer continues on quite a bit but I'm tired of typing. :) In any case, my eyes could not roll any farther back in my head at this depiction of her Native American holy guide's supposed words here.

My other reason for the low rating is that ultimately the author did not convince me of her authenticity and just struck me as someone saying exactly what people want to be told in every way: The dead are right here with us, but can choose to move on to reincarnation if they like. The afterlife is absolutely perfect and beautiful in every way. They are watching over us and love us and are at great peace. Death isn't scary, you don't even suffer as much as it looks like. Every little thing you see that makes you think of your loved one is probably your loved one leaving you messages (examples given are robins, feathers, misplaced objects, pennies and sudden changes of temperature, which of course are things we all encounter all the time). We never truly die, everything is wonderful.

It's a fantastic message, and I'm sure it will bring great comfort to many readers who will love this book, particularly those who are grieving and looking for peace.

Something that was also telling for me was in the advanced copy that I have for reading, meaning editing isn't all the way finalized. At one point in one of Broad's many testimonials that are supposedly from amazed clients (who all sound exactly the same), there is the word "reword" right in the middle of the testimonial. It took me by surprise as it didn't fit in the sentence so I had to stop and reread the sentence 2 or 3 times before I realized that it seemed to be an editing note that had been mistakenly typed, saying that someone should reword the testimonial. I don't think you're supposed to do that with real testimonials (!), and it seemed a bit like pulling back the curtain.

If it weren't for the White Feather business, I probably would have given the book 3 stars for "liked it." With the combination of all of the above, I'm giving 2 for what Goodreads says means "it was okay." Ultimately, it was a somewhat interesting read even if I didn't come away agreeing with the message.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

(Small additional gripe -- the book ends with a quote saying to release lots of balloons when a person dies. Please don't pollute the earth and endanger wildlife by releasing balloons. Balloon releases are a form of mass littering and it's time to stop promoting them.)

The author wrote a great account of the personal journey they embarked on. The honest and detailed writing made it easy for the reader to feel invested in their journey communicating with the dead.

As someone who is quite intuned with the spirit realm, I really enjoyed this read. I loved the author’s view on everything and it was nice to learn something new. Very refreshing and insightful. Great for a beginner who is curious about the unknown, or for someone who is grieving. I also found this as a great tool for those who are beginning their mediumship journey.

Book: “What the Dead Are Dying to Teach Us: Lessons Learned From the Afterlife,” by Claire Broad, Watkins Publishing, 2019.

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book available September 10, 2019

Claire Broad tries hard and for that I have to give her some credit. She has written a basic book about mediumship and what the dead are trying to teach us. It is a good beginner introduction but but if you are aware of anything about what decease spirits are saying, it is repetitive from other sources. If you watch Long Island Medium, Mama Medium, Mom's a Medium or have seen John Edward Colette Baron-Reid, John Holland, James Van Praagh you should be aware of the major points spiritual people are making.

I found myself becoming quite busy and so had to leave the book mainly read but not entirely. It was a mistake because I was not “called” back to the book. I eventually came back to it to finish it off and give it a proper reading. I am sorry to say but much of what has been said in this book has been said by many others beforehand.

Here are the seven main points. “You are spirit or conscious awareness. Death is an illusion because consciousness is not confined. You are never alone. You can rise above fear. Love never dies as your life has purpose. Ask and it will be given. And nobody dies alone.”

To be fair, I went over my notes and I found that I liked Claire's Call to Action sections.

To conclude, I would have to say that if you are dealing with death or are curious about the afterlife, this is a good introductory book. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. If you interested in life between lives, I would recommend the hypnotic work of Dr. Michael Newton of the Newton Institute.

Tags: Claire Broad, Waktins Publishing, death, medium, mediumship, dead, spirit, spiritual, psychic, Long Island Medium, Mama Medium, John Edward, Colette Baron-Reid, John Holland, James Van Praagh, spirit, consciousness, illusion, fear, love, purpose, Dr. Michael Newton, Newton Institute, Mary Mikawoz, Mikawoz, Book Review

This is a good book in general about the subject, but I just felt somewhat lacking while reading it, as though there was always something missing. It is hard to explain why I felt this way; it was like the explanations were a little vague at times and not as detailed as other books I have read. I would read a few chapters and feel as though I hadn’t really been given much information out of all that I had just read. Every now and then there was something that stood out, maybe something was explained a bit better and gave me an “ah-ha” moment. This would make a good complementary book on the subject, but if you really need something more detailed because you’re new to it all, you might want to start with a different book first.

You need to keep an open mind when reading this book. It’s an eye opener for sure. Look beyond the title and just open yourself up to this book

I would skip this one. You may find a few interesting passages, but I'm sure there are better books about the Afterlife out there.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I did not like this book at all. I was so excited to read it but straight away felt that it was written in a very self indulgent tone which grated on me a lot. I found that it was quite patronising at times and I didn't like the way the author kept stating that mediums need years and years of training. I know plenty of mediums who are amazing but have had no formal training at all. The other thing that really put me off this book was the way things were referenced. If you are going to reference research please do it it the correct way! All in all a highly disappointing read.

I have read numerous books on this subject matter over the years and have often struggled with the content. Either I couldn't connect with it or had me skeptical after finishing. Considering that this is something that I have personally experienced many times in my life that always left me confuddled as to how I could be skeptical. Until this book. This book was finally what I was wanting.

The author did a great job of breaking it down. My favorite part was the call to action sections. There was also a lot of research put into this book and additional sites to look at for more information. After struggling many years with what many people have told me wasn't real and feeling like I was crazy for believing this book made me feel a little bit better. I no longer question my experiences or visions and instead have tools to help me better understand.

A huge thank you to this author for helping me heighten my awareness.

Sadly this book didn’t not live to it expectations. I was expecting so much more and felt that this book failed to deliver.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

As others said, It was lacking something. I felt like it was just missing something in general.

Inspiring, thought provoking, well written and informative. And thankfully, not proselytizing — just the feeling that the author really wants to share this information.

This book was okay. However, I was left wanting more. I liked the premise but it didn't flush out in the actual book.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.