This book was deeper than what I'd originally expected. In my culture, Ancestors and their veneration is a very very serious business. So this book was just a pleasant read for me - and one of my biggest feeling at the end of it, was that our ancestors, are ours, and not an entity to be feared.
The book is written warmly and covers a lot of ground - it is a good read to understand your own attitude and approach and develop a practice if that is what you want.

Ben Stimpson's Ancestral Whispers is an incredibly well researched non-fiction which discusses in-depth historical and cultural connections to ancestors. There is much information about how many different religions think of their dead. Do they have spirits, if so where do they go, can we connect with them, and if so how. Some people visit a loved one's grave, some go to a place that reminds them of their loved one, while others just need to look at an object given by or once belonging to their deceased loved one. This book is steeped in so much knowledge. It was incredibly interesting, and I loved learning about the different practices around the world pertaining to our dead loved ones and ancestors. I really enjoy the decorative design at the beginning of the chapters.
A worthwhile read regardless of your practising religion, or lack thereof.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ancestral Whilspers by Ben Stimpson is a non fiction work centered in the practice of ancestor work and veneration.
What I liked
-Well researched
-organized in an easy to digest format
-good utilization of external resources
What didn't work as well for me
I would have liked some more looking into veneration and ancestor work as it relates to those who have discovered their ancestors were not great people.

Who I would recommend the title for

Ancestral Whispers is a great read for those looking to actively engage with the practice of Ancestor veneration but maybe not a good fit for those just looking for academic info on the topic.

This was a very well researched and written book. I was very interested in a lot of what was covered and learned a lot. I will be incorporating into my practice. Also loved how much detail was given to additional material and the bibliography.

Ancestors area huge part of my practice. This book gave me an entirely new way of looking at them and honoring them. Definitely recommend to everyone who uses ancestor veneration or those interested in just learning about the practice

Well done, it talks about the ancestry worship in different era and cultures. It's full of food for thought and helps to create a personal ancestry worship.
Well written and researched, useful and informative
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Overall a great overview on the different spiritual traditions and beliefs that shape ancestral worship and some introductory considerations for starting this kind of practice. Lots of insightful journal prompts to help a reader reflect upon their own ancestry and values. Still, I found myself wanting more nitty-gritty suggestions on how to get started.

ANCESTRAL WHISPERS by Ben Stimpson is a wonderful roadmap for practicing ancestral veneration in a way that fits your belief system. I found the book very interesting, and the author very knowledgeable. I found it easy to understand, and I liked the exercises. I have put into practice a lot I learned from this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding.

Ben Stimpson is undoubtedly a talented and educated writer. This book read like an academic article, for better or worse. I found it hard to engage with the text and found the topics at times disjoined or meandering away from the topic of ancestor veneration. The title is apt “Ancestral Whispers” because that’s all that really comes through on the topic.

I have long included my ancestors in my practice and rituals. I adore this book hat bringing this practice to the forefront and providing a guide. Since I am a sole practitioner and eclectic witch, I have what was handed down and what is my own practice. When someone asks me for guidance, it’s nice to be able to say, these are my practices, but here’s a great book on the topic. It makes it a bit easier to have a book to refer them to. 

Well written and easy to follow, this is a great book for anyone’s toolbox and a gift for those who may be interested.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review. I would have given this 4.5 stars, but rounded it up, because it was better than only 4 stars. I had not realized there was a term for one of the things I have started practicing, so this book helped me to expand on what I had kind of been doing on my own. My biggest complaint is that since this was a Kindle version, I wasn't able to write notes in the margin, or that there wasn't a workbook to go with it. I will be purchasing the printed version so that I can easily reference the portions I want to go back to study. The author does a great job of making the practice of ancestral veneration easy to understand. And also has great advice on trying to avoid possible pitfalls. I look forward to exploring this practice more.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book is a ‘guide’ in the fullest sense of the world. Its not an instruction manual that tells you to do x, y and z, rather it gently explores both fundamental and ancillary topics that focus on ancestral veneration which leaves you with a better conception of what an ancestral veneration practice could look like while giving you the tools to build your own. Stimpson also addresses some foils towards ancestral veneration that are commonly encountered and he walks you through processing them. Stimpson’s narrative voice is that of a wise and experienced practical practitioner that inspires confidence while exuding humility.

In the Druid tradition, we often call to the ancestors of blood, place, and tradition, and Stimpson addresses all of these groups. Each of these ancestral groups creates issues in my mind that Stimpson helped me work through and understand better.

Regarding ancestors of blood, ancestral veneration is something entirely lacking from my familial background and runs in opposition to my living family’s Christian beliefs. I have often shrunk back from attempting ancestral practices because I wouldn’t want to cross the beliefs that my ancestors may have espoused in life. Stimpson’s exercises helped me to process and more fully think through the issues at hand, leaving me with a better understanding and willingness to develop a practice. With ancestors of place, here in the Untied States, we have a troubled relationship with indigenous peoples, and Stimpson does an excellent job topically discussing some of the issues at hand. For ancestors of tradition, Stimpson thoroughly explores relationships between those who have influenced our thoughts, lifestyles, or health status in a way that I really appreciated. He also introduces the concept of fictional characters as ancestors/role models in a way that was new to me.

Some key themes of Stimpson’s advice are respect, practicality, and consistency of communication, and really these are the main points of any relationship whether that be with the living or with those that have moved on. He addresses the importance of mutual respect between yourself and the ancestors, if you had an uncle in life who crossed lines, simply because he’s moved on isn’t a reason to allow him to cross them. Alternately, the ancestors aren’t a vending machine with transactional buttons to push, ancestral veneration is about relationship and what springs naturally from relationship, which should be benefits for all parties involved.

I highly recommend this book. It provides an excellent foundation for further practice and study.

Exploring The Facts of Ancestral Connection and Practices

The author provides indepth information on the existence of souls prior to life on earth. He states that the Great Before is where souls take on personalities and talents before living. He further states that, in some traditions, there are spaces between life and final death, spaces between reincarnations, and spaces of pre-life where the eternal spirit can take time to pause and reflect on the lessons learned or yet to be learned.

He discusses the difference in the traditions and nature of pre-life spaces for various cultures,stating that some traditions view the prelife setting as an in-between space where souls rest for a while before taking on a new body via reincarnation, while other traditions see the space as the origin point of souls where they plan out their coming lives on earth.

However, based on his studies, he identified the following three broad categories of where different traditions seem to fit on the issue of a before-life:

1. Traditions where souls exist before life, particularly in re-incarnation based traditions or in religions such as Mormonism where all souls were created at the beginning of the universe and wait for a corporeal body to house them.
2. Traditions where the soul is created and delivered upon conception or birth.
3. Traditions where the soul or parts of the soul are given at a point within life.

He states that other various animistic traditions where rites of passage are also times when aspects of personhood are attained through rites such as naming ceremonies, vision quests, confirmations, and initiations; and in Islam it is taught that all souls were created in adult form at the same time as the first man, Adam, and exist before life, waiting to be born. The soul is delivered to the body at birth by angels or God and develops into a living human.

The author discusses the various traditions of how there is a time between life and death when the individual is still tied to their body but is not considered fully alive. This state might be in the time between physical death and the funeral or for a period where the spirit lingers until moving on to their next life. In such traditions, no matter how decomposed the body may be, the etiquette of the culture is for the individual to still be treated as if alive in some way. In particular, he explains that among Tibetans and Mongolians (and other cultures associated with Vajrayana Buddhism) the spirits of the dead are often believed to remain for forty days in their bodies until certain rites are performed, and then the physical body is removed and delivered to the burial grounds.

The author states that the Torajan people of Indonesia’s South Sulawesi region keep the bodies of dead loved ones at home in bed until it is possible to perform a lavish funeral, and the bodies are often treated as if they are sleeping or ill but very much alive. These elaborate funerals can sometimes take up to twenty years to occur, as the family must raise enough money to put on a spectacle, especially if the deceased was a notable member of society. In the intervening time , the body of the deceased stays in the home with the family and is treated as if they were alive.

Ben Stimpson discusses who our ancestors are by stating that it is easy to just say, “Ancestors are our dead blood relatives,” but he contends that an ancestor is someone who has a direct connection to us in some way, whether they be blood relatives, adopted relatives, lineage ancestors, ancestors by group affinity, or any other direct association with an individual.

He discusses ancestor veneration, in terms of whom shall one honor with veneration, the morality of it, and some of the various forms of veneration.

I found this book to be extremely informative regarding life before birth, what happens after death; and more importantly, who are our ancestors and how do we honor them.

I highly recommend this book, not only for beginners, but for advanced spiritualists seeking a great reference book.

Ancestor veneration is a custom that is common in many cultures. One fact brought up with that though is there are dos and donts in those cultures that the people are aware of and its not strange to them. Beginning a new custom for yourself can come with great advantages and also troubles if not fully explored IMO. The dangers of Ancestor focus without good jusgement is discussed and I feel is very important. Not all ancestors are going to be your best friend or even agree with you on all things. After reading this book I know more abut this practice and have used some of its teachings in my daily prayer times. I think this book is needed and a good guide if anyone is thinking of starting an ancestor altar or rituals to them.

I’ve practiced ancestor journeying and connection each Fall for many years, so I was super excited to see this new book! I love the in-depth intro because it sets us up to really get to know the author's perspective and it’s fun to discover similarities, parallel influences or synchromysticisms. ✨🔮 This comprehensive book is overflowing with valuable information for people with a new or established ancestor practice. While I’m not new to this work, I plan to take Ben Stimson’s advice to regard his teachings as an opportunity to deepen or challenge my held beliefs. I’m open to changing the ones I’m not even consciously aware that I have.

Stimson has clearly done his research and it’s fascinating to read about the myriad of spiritual beliefs and traditions around the globe. While ritualistic practices and ancestor veneration can happen all year — it’s perfect timing for this to be publishing early Sept. It’ll set people up beautifully for what I feel are the strongest months to deeply connect with those who walked before us.

ARC NETGALLEY REVIEW

I absolutely loved this book, with so much attention on the trauma of our ancestors, I think sometimes we forget to connect in good ways and have beliefs that not everything is trauma. This emulated this from page one to the last. The author does something I find when reading these types of books, he references and note credit, he absolutely has substance to his writing. The journal prompts we thoughtful and so well articulated for anyone. I would absolutely add to my Ancestral Trauma Yoga (& spirituality) classes as a recommendation reading and activity.