Book Review: "Adventures in the Supernormal"

         Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of books on the paranormal, and I’ve certainly learned something from each one. But there were a few that made an especially deep impression on me. Adventures in the Supernormal by Eileen J. Garrett is one of them.

         This small but potent book is the autobiography of Eileen Garrett (1893-1970), one of the most amazingly psychic people I’ve ever heard about. In an insightful, unpretentious way, she describes a life that was far from typical, giving us a glimpse into how it felt to be intensely psychic—and sharing her perceptions of the unseen world that is hidden to most of us.

         From the time of her childhood in Ireland, Eileen could see auras (“surrounds”) around people, animals, and plants; perceived patterns of color and light everywhere, and saw how they interacted with the energies of living things; and saw and communicated with spirits. As her life unfolded, she would exhibit practically every psychic skill I know of—precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis, spiritual healing, and trance mediumship. She would participate in psychic research in both Britain and the US, where she was extensively studied and tested, and recognized as a credible, highly skilled psychic. (She was, in fact, the subject of one of the most well‑documented, convincing episodes of trance mediumship in the history of psychic research. More on that in a future entry.) As often as possible, she also made herself available to people who needed healing or psychic help. And in 1951, Eileen established the non-profit Parapsychology Foundation, which is still in existence today, supporting scientific and academic research in parapsychology. Along with all this, she also managed to be a book publisher, magazine editor, and author of a number of books! A truly amazing story.

         This is not a new book, but I strongly recommend it to anyone who’s interested in the paranormal. The book is available from Amazon and other sources, and I just might get one to replace my yellowed, well-read copy. It would certainly be worth it!